A Life of Secrecy
by MerridewLover
Summary: Ebony doesn't know about the secrets Mystic Falls holds, but the Original family just might change that... Ebony gets roped into a world filled with Kol, Kol, Kol. But is it so bad anymore? Follows episode 3.14 and so forth. KolxOC ; ElijahxOC
1. Chapter 1:  The Ball

**Notes:**** Ebony and Amy are 17 and Ebony has light brown hair and green eyes while Amy has long brown hair and blue eyes.**

_**Chapter One**_

Ebony walked into the Mikaelsen's mansion, holding her Victorian era dress up as she looked around in amazement at how large and beautifully decorated the mansion was. She has her dark brown hair in soft curls and her green eyes looked around at the guests—the whole town was invited! She walked aimlessly until she bumped into someone accidentally. She looked up into familiar blue eyes and smiled at her friend Amy.

"Hey, Amy. This house is—"

"Gorgeous? Huge? Amazing?" Amy cut her off, smiling. Ebony nodded before speaking.

"All three."

They walked over to stand near the walls and watched the people silently. Ebony's eyes trailed over until she spotted the Mayor talking to Damon Salvatore. They only talked for a bit and then they were interrupted by another guy who looked to be about 18 or 19 years old. Ebony watched as he raised the Mayor's hand to his lips, like a gentleman and they talked for only the mass of a few seconds before Damon stuck his hand toward the man in a polite gesture, though his face said otherwise. The man said a few things while smirking, then walked past Damon without shaking his hand. Ebony raised her eyebrows but otherwise said nothing. Ebony looked at Amy to find her intently staring at a man who looked a bit too old for her standing on the stairwell. Ebony watched the man from earlier walk to the stairs and she realized he must be from the Mikaelsen family.

"Welcome," the man who Amy had been eyeing's voice rang out as everyone quieted down. "Thank you for joining us." A beautiful woman who must've been their mother walked down the steps to reach the rest of the five siblings. "You know, whenever my mother brings our family together like this, it's tradition to commence the evening with a dance." Ebony only raised her brows again, looking around at how mesmerized the other townsfolk were by his soothing voice. "Tonight's pick is a century's old waltz—so if all of you could please find yourselves a partner, please join us in the ballroom." He walked down the stairs first, and soon after his four remaining siblings followed him down, though their mother went up the stairs to the upper floor.

Ebony watched as Amy breathed in deeply and gave her a look. "What?" Ebony questioned, looking away and watching the man from earlier with his light brown cropped hair and black tux with a black tie stand a bit farther away. Ebony didn't know what it was, but he intrigued her.

"Well if you're done eyeing your man candy over there," Amy started in a playful manner which caused Ebony to look at her with a shocked face and smacked her shoulder slightly. Amy chuckled before continuing. "I really want to dance with Elijah…"

"Who's Elijah?"

"The guy who was talking!"

"Oh, you mean the one who looks like he's already married?"

"Oh shut it, I didn't see a ring."

"Wow, way to be a creeper, Amy."

They laughed like the close childhood friends they were and simply stood. When Ebony looked in the direction that the youngest—from the looks of it—sibling had been standing, he was not there anymore. She looked away and then felt a tap at her shoulder from behind. Ebony looked behind her to see that guy from before smiling politely—and a bit forced—at her. He offered her his hand and she took it warily.

"I don't believe we've met before. I'm Kol Mikaelsen," he said gently before lifting her hand up to his lips to softly brush them against her knuckles. She felt her face heat up and she struggled to keep her heartbeat under control.

"It's nice to meet you, Kol. I'm Ebony Lumière," she replied, thankful her voice didn't waver. He smirked slightly at her before raising himself straighter up.

"May I have this dance, Miss Ebony Lumière?"

"Of course," she said. He lifted his arm and slipped her hand gracefully onto his arm, resting his own hand against her lightly gloved one. He led her to the ballroom and Ebony had to take a few deep breaths in secrecy.

Soon enough he stood and faced her, bringing her to stand beside him in the correct stance. Ebony silently thanked Caroline Forbes for teaching her the basics of this dance. They danced silently, and Ebony felt herself relax while they danced to the music of "Give Me Love" by Ed Sheeran. She smiled slightly, just a barely noticeable upward motion of the tips of her lips. Soon enough, as they passed the other line of dancers, Kol twirled her slowly and then she was being pulled into his chest, her hand automatically lifting to sit on his broad shoulder while his right hand slipped down to hold the small of her back and keep her to him. He held her other hand in his gently and they twirled across the ballroom floors with the rest of the guests.

Ebony looked into Kol's brown eyes and felt her body relax slightly in the circle of his arms. He looked into her eyes intently, but Ebony couldn't help feeling that it was false intensity—as if he was actually just bored and was trying to follow rules set by someone important to him. Ebony looked away from him and decided to look over his shoulder instead as they danced gracefully. She met Amy's sea colored eyes and raised her eyebrows at her as she saw Amy's dance partner was Elijah. Amy winked at her and wiggled her eyebrows from where she was watching her, also looking over Elijah's shoulder.

Kol twirled her so suddenly—she hadn't been paying attention to the dance—that she nearly fell and then she was pressed against another chest. She looked up into a pair of brown eyes that resembled Kol's. It must have been his brother—she recognized him from somewhere on the stairs where he'd been standing next to his siblings. Ebony looked at him as he twirled her around.

"Hello, Miss." His voice was soft, and Ebony couldn't help but notice how everything about him seemed gentler than his younger brother. She smiled politely at him.

"Pleasure to meet you, Mister Mikaelsen."

"Oh, please," he said, smiling awkwardly at her. "Mr. Mikaelsen is my father. Call me Finn."

She smiled at him.

"Then it is a pleasure to meet you, Finn. I am Ebony." She felt him twirl her around and she smiled when his hand returned to her waist.

"The pleasure is all mine, Miss Ebony."

They twirled together on the dance floor a few times before they parted and once again Ebony found herself being pressed to a broad chest. She looked up into the dark eyes of Elijah Mikaelsen.

"Hello there, Miss Ebony," he greeted her as he gripped her hand in his and began to dance to the music and Ebony had to scramble to get herself into the right position.

"It's a pleasure, Elijah," she replied. Amy had probably told him her name, and she knew his already because of her friend anyway. She peeked above Elijah's shoulder—_dang!_ She thought, _he is tall!_—and caught sight of Amy's gaze while she was dancing with Finn. They seemed to be getting along quite well and when Elijah twirled her away from him for a few seconds, Ebony caught the brown eyes of Kol. She blinked at him before she was turned around and facing the eldest brother again.

They danced a few more minutes before the song ended. Ebony went to move away from Elijah—as did most guests—but Kol spoke up to the butler controlling the music.

"Good Sir," he began, his voice mysteriously playful, "would you kindly play another song?" The man nodded and the song "Breathe Again" by Sara Bareilles filled the room, and Elijah was twirling her once again.

After a few moments of dancing, Ebony was twirled away and into a new circle of arms. She looked up into Kol's eyes as he slipped his hand into hers and rested his hand on her back heavily, bringing her closer to him. She looked down at their bodies, thinking dizzily as she set her own hand on his shoulder, _There isn't enough room for _air_ to pass through!_ She was twirled mindlessly to the music and Ebony felt her aching feet begin to ache even more. She looked up at Kol once again and regretted it immediately. He was staring at her intently—really intently this time. But what made her heart jump to her throat wasn't just the fact that he was staring at her so intently, it was the fact that he was staring at her in a sort of animalistic hunger. Ebony felt her breath hitch and she looked down quickly. He pulled her even closer and Ebony felt herself try and push back a little, because the fact that she could feel his breath on her neck scared her. The song neared its end and Ebony felt Kol's lips slightly brush her jawline near her ear and she shivered, trying to back away. Kol's arms were surprisingly strong and Ebony couldn't even break an inch. She didn't want to cause a scene, so she opted for simply pressing his shoulder and hand tightly. He didn't seem to notice as his lips trailed down slowly on her neck and Ebony tried to pull her head away. Right as Ebony felt Kol's cold lips part slightly against her neck, the song came to an end and she pushed against his chest roughly to get him off of her. He didn't seem to notice and she was about to do it again when suddenly his arms were gone and his head had snapped up. Ebony stumbled backwards a few steps and looked at him in shock. He didn't even look at her—he was glaring at Finn and then he was walking away.

"What a jerk," she said to herself as she tried to cool down her heated skin and pushed the thoughts of tingling sensations where his lips had been to the back of her mind. Ebony breathed deeply and then walked out of the ballroom huffing.

As she caught sight of Matt Donavon she was about to call him over but then she saw him with the sister in the Mikaelsen family—Rebekah, was it?—and she cocked her head in confusion. She blinked a few times and when Kol slipped out from behind them, she couldn't help feel curious. She was about to go after them when Finn Mikaelsen came to a stop in front of her. She looked up at him, dropping her skirts to the ground, knowing that he would be standing there for a while. He scratched his head awkwardly as he looked down at her.

"About Kol's inappropriate behavior…" he trailed off slightly, looking uncomfortable. Ebony blinked a few times and then chuckled slightly at him. When he looked at her in confusion, she explained.

"It's fine… I don't know what came over him, but it's okay, really. I don't plan on really getting that close to him again, Finn. And plus, you shouldn't have to apologize for your brother's actions." She smiled at him gratefully and he nodded and turned to leave. After he left, and she spotted Amy speaking with Elijah off to the side, Ebony got ready to leave after the three who'd left. But just as she took a step forward in the painful heels, Matt and Rebekah walked back inside. Ebony stopped and furrowed her brows. She turned around and was stopped by a server who offered her champagne. She smiled at him and took a glass, eyeing the strange pink tint it had. She shrugged it off as expensive wine or something and looked over to where Mrs. Mikaelsen was standing at the top of the stairs and lightly tapped the glass in her hand to gather everyone's attention. Ebony didn't notice Kol slip back inside and stand by his brother, Finn.

"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen," she said, her voice beautiful and soft—a British accent helping in the charm she had—though it gathered everybody's attention instantly, and Ebony herself found herself waiting to hear what she had to say, as if she were drawn to her. "Waiters are coming around with champagne," she continued, smiling, "I invite you all to join me in raising a glass. It provides me with no greater joy than to see my family back together as one. I'd like to thank you all for being part of this _spectacular_ evening." After a slight pause, she ended it with one word… "Cheers." Ebony didn't know why, but she did _not_ like the way Mrs. Mikaelsen said the word 'spectacular' as if she had hidden a double meaning in her words as she spoke them—but Ebony told herself she was over thinking things and pushed the thoughts and uneasy feelings to the back of her mind. Everyone raised their glasses of champagne in the air after the beautiful woman at the stairs, repeated the word "cheers" and everyone raised the glasses to their lips to take a drink. Ebony met Amy's eyes and they both set down their drinks without sipping them. When Amy looked back at her, Ebony mouthed to her friend, "I'm going outside for some fresh air." Once Amy nodded, Ebony took off to the doors. She walked around aimlessly and sat down near a bundle of bushes and trees. She was about to go back inside when she heard a voice from the balcony above her that sounded eerily familiar.

"Good evening," it said, and she looked up catching sight of someone's back. "You're Rebekah's friend. We haven't met."

Ebony felt as if her stomach had dropped and for a reason unknown to her she hid amongst the bushes, covering herself.

"Matt Donavon," a second voice sounded and Ebony thought confusedly, _Matt?_

"Kol Mikaelsen."

Ebony had to stifle her gasp. She was about to move away when she heard Matt's voice yelp out in pain and she wondered exactly what was happening up there. After a few seconds passing where she heard Matt yell out a few more times, Damon Salvatore's voice broke through as well.

"Hey, hey, hey, hey, easy on the hand; guy's a Quarterback." Ebony heard a grunt follow and then there was a loud _thump_ sound in front of her where she was hidden. Ebony peeked out to see Kol lying on the ground, and just as she was about to go see if he was okay, Damon Salvatore appeared on top of him. Ebony gasped quietly but doubted they heard her over the sound of their struggling. Ebony watched, horrified, as Damon smacked Kol's face to the side and then—quicker than her eyes could follow—grasped Kol's jaw and with both of them struggling, eventually Ebony heard a disgusting crack and Kol lay limp on the ground. Ebony's eyes were wide and then Stefan Salvatore came running outside.

"Damon!" Stefan stopped a couple feet away and Damon stood from on top of Kol's lifeless body. He looked at Stefan and Ebony was glad they hadn't seen her. Stefan looked at his elder brother in shock before she heard him say, "What, are you crazy?"

The rest of Kol's siblings walked out calmly, looking at their youngest brother with no fear for his life. Ebony couldn't believe this! How could they be so calm about their brother's death? Elena Gilbert then came running out, stopped in shock when she saw what Damon had done. Ebony saw Damon's head slightly move from Stefan to Elena and he replied to Stefan though he was watching Elena's face.

"Maybe a little," he said, voice breaking. He lifted his head up high and glared at Elena before saying, "Far be it for me to cause a _problem_." Elena looked at the older Salvatore disapprovingly and then he turned his back to them and walked away. Ebony watched in horror as Stefan took Elena inside and Elijah walked over to his younger brother and picked him up carelessly, throwing him over his shoulder and walking around the house—to a back entrance, she presumed. She watched Rebekah walk back inside and Finn followed after her. Ebony could feel her heart pounding against her ribcage almost painfully and she was breathing heavily. If they could do this to their brother, she didn't want to know what they'd do to anyone else. Ebony made up her mind to go inside, grab Amy, explain what she saw to her and then run to their houses and never go near the Mikaelsen's again, Amy's crush on Elijah be damned.

Ebony made her way out from behind the bushes and greenery and began running to the doors. She made it inside, caught sight of Amy talking to Caroline Forbes and Klaus Mikaelsen—she knew him because she'd heard good and bad things about him. She was about to make her way over there when she ran into a rough chest that wasn't there before. She looked up and had to hold back a scream when she locked eyes with Finn Mikaelsen.

"Excuse me, Finn," she said, trying to push past him. He caught her arm and looked into her eyes but then stopped, smelled her and muttered a word she didn't quite understand.

"I can't compel you, then." She looked at him, confused. "What are you wearing on that dress of yours?" She didn't see the point in the question, so she stayed quiet, but then Finn's grip on her arm increased and she could already _feel_ the bruises forming. She looked up at him and he repeated his question.

"It's just perfume!" she said, trying to yank her hand out. Her arm didn't budge even a centimeter and he squeezed a bit harder.

"Who gave it to you?"

"I don't know!"

"Don't lie to me, Ebony." He stared into her eyes and she put one hand on the one holding her arm, trying to ease the pain, if only slightly.

"My dad did! Let go, Finn, you're hurting me!"

But instead, Finn just dragged her off. He walked up the stairs and as Ebony went up unwillingly with him, she looked back, seeing people beginning to leave. It was still full, but people were slowly leaving as the time grew later. She looked at Finn who seemed to have no trouble dragging her even though she put up a fight against him. He eventually stopped in front of a door, held her in place and knocked a few times. When the door opened it revealed a slightly disheveled Rebekah. Finn pushed her onto Rebekah and told his sister, "Get that Vervain off of her in the next few minutes and then put her in the room. He's going to need her when he wakes up."

Rebekah groaned but nodded. Ebony was pulled inside, the door was shut and then she was being drenched in water, dress and all. Ebony shrieked at how ice cold it was but Rebekah simply started to take the dress off. Ebony was too frightened to do anything but stand and shiver. Soon she was just standing in her underwear and bra, covering herself and shivering. Rebekah threw a towel at her, threw a button up, too big black shirt at her and made her get it on. It reached up to her mid-thighs and Rebekah pulled up her now wavy brown hair into a messy and painful ponytail before dragged her out of the room by the arm.

Ebony was led down a hallway until they reached another door and stopped. Rebekah opened it and when she was shoved inside, Ebony looked up to see the lifeless body of Kol Mikaelsen lying on the large bed. She jumped back and then met the brown eyes of Elijah. He looked at her, said a very quiet, "I'm sorry," to her, threw her to the ground and left, shutting and locking the door behind him.

Ebony got up, stared at Kol for a few seconds and then began pounding on the door.

"Let me out!" she yelled repeatedly. After what seemed like an eternity to her she decided to stop because no one had come. She rested her fist against the door lightly and put her forehead on the door, feeling hot tears slipping down her cheeks. She was stuck with a dead body in a locked room in a mansion. What was she supposed to do? Ebony's soft cries were cut off by the sound of shifting from behind her. She froze—the only thing in here with her was a dead body, how could there be another noise? When the shifting noise continued, Ebony slowly turned her head around to look at Kol's lifeless body.

Or, at least, it was _supposed_ to be lifeless.

When Ebony turned her head completely, her body still leaning against the door for support, her green eyes met Kol's brown ones—except they were Kol's blinking brown eyes. He slowly lifted a hand to his head and then sat up on the bed. He finally realized she was there and he looked over at her and watched her as if she was his prey—which was preposterous, because they were both supposed to be _humans_, right?

But humans didn't die and come back to life as if nothing had happened.

She looked at him in a mix of emotions—shock, relief, fear, and more. He slowly turned to face her completely. She uttered a single name in a soft, broken voice that completely set off the man in front of her.

"Kol?"

That's when he was suddenly lunging at her in an unnatural speed, there was pain on the side of her neck. Ebony faintly heard herself scream as he gripped her head to keep it in place for his mouth and the other going around, keeping her body near his. She felt her arms go up around his neck to grip his hair and try to pull him away from her, but it was no use. Ebony felt as if her life was draining away from her and her knees went weak; the only thing keeping her upright was Kol's painful grip on her body as he ate away at her life.

Everything went black.


	2. Chapter 2: Vampires

**Disclaimer:**I do not own TVD because if I did then Elena would be dead because she's such a b**** and Damon and Stefan would fall in love with TWO SEPARATE girls who deserve them. Unlike Elena. Because she obviously doesn't deserve them. And Esther wouldn't have performed that ritual… because I like Kol…

_**Chapter Two**_

Ebony came into consciousness slowly, the bright sunlight hot against her skin. She opened her eyes slowly, memories of the night before rushing into her mind and making her grip her neck. She winced and only just realized she was lying down on a bed with blankets covering her. She looked down at herself—the black button up was wide open and bloody—and tried to calm down her frenzied heart. She turned her head slowly to her right on the bloody white pillow and saw a bare back facing her. She breathed a breath of relief before slowly sitting up in the large bed. She stopped for a minute, remembering what had happened yesterday after the first bite.

_Ebony was still conscious, though her body was too weak to do anything to resist her predator. Kol's mouth moved away from her neck and Ebony opened her eyes to look at him. He watched her with his demonic face, blood covering his teeth—his _canine_ teeth—and dripping from his chin. He smiled evilly at her and before Ebony could react she was suddenly pushed onto the bed and the shirt was being ripped open forcefully._

_Ebony had enough strength to raise her arms against his face when he lowered his head toward her. She pushed against him, but to no avail. Kol had unimaginable strength and then he was biting her shoulder, her stomach, any skin he could come into contact with._

_That night was filled with Ebony's agonized screams._

Ebony looked over at Kol's sleeping back and slowly lifted the thin covers off of her bloodied legs. She winced at the sight of all the bite marks left on her skin—they looked so gruesome. She turned her back on Kol and put her feet lightly on the floorboard. She turned her face to look at him—he was still peacefully sleeping, back to her.

She breathed deeply a few times and then lifted herself off of the bed. She slowly tip toed toward the closed door, hoping that it was unlocked. She reached it and gripped the knob, about to turn it—

"Good morning, sunshine."

Ebony jumped, heart throwing itself against her ribs painfully and she turned around, pressing her back against the door. Kol was sitting up with support from his elbows on his blood smeared bed, blanket covering his waist down, smirking. Ebony watched him warily. He sat up a little more in the bed and simply watched her.

"It's a surprise you're still alive after all that," he said, lifting his fingers to wipe at a little bit of blood on the corner of his lips. Ebony swallowed, still not replying. "Come now," he said, cocking his head mischievously, "I know bites don't ruin your vocals. Say something, darling."

Instead of replying, Ebony turned as fast as she could and turned the door knob. It opened and she yanked it open just as Kol ran up to her. But thanks to the force she used to open the door, right as he came up to grab her, the side of the door knocked him in the face, stopping him momentarily. Ebony took her chance to flee and she ran as fast as she could down the hall, not caring that she wasn't wearing anything but a torn button-up shirt. She reached the stairs and ran down quickly, looking back up, surprised that Kol wasn't behind her. She turned around just as she reached the bottom of the stairs and ran into someone. Before she could back away, the person grabbed her arms roughly. Ebony looked up fearfully into Kol's eyes.

Kol smirked at her and then she saw his canines extract and push slightly against his lips. Ebony tried to yank herself out of his arms as his face descended towards her neck once more.

"Kol!" a sharp, feminine voice echoed from the top of the stairs, and Ebony and Kol both looked up to where the voice had come from. It was Mrs. Mikaelsen.

Kol's grip tightened slightly around her arms, but his fangs retracted and his face smoothed out into the one she'd seen at the ball—a normal human's face. His smile though seemed a bit tightlipped as he looked at his disapproving mother.

"Good morning, Mother." Mrs. Mikaelsen glared at her son.

"Kol, who is this young lady?" she asked, looking at Ebony. Ebony looked at her in fear—if her children were monsters didn't that mean she was too?

Ebony looked up at Kol, who was already watching her with hard eyes. Ebony stayed still and quiet as Kol looked at his mother with a guarded face.

"This is my blood whore."

Ebony felt like she'd been slapped in the face.

Mrs. Mikaelsen shook her head, as if used to hearing this from either Kol himself or his other siblings, and held out her hand.

"Let her come up here to me, Kol."

"Why, Mother? I just told you, she's merely here for my entertainment—"

"_Kol_." The way she'd said it implied there would be no more arguing. Kol looked at her and let go of her arms stiffly. Ebony backed up a bit from her, offended and scared. Mrs. Mikaelsen called her up with a soothing voice and Ebony quickly turned away from Kol and ran up the stairs to his mother. Even if she was a monster as well, Ebony would rather be with her than Kol, who'd kill her without blinking. She reached the top of the stairs, held Mrs. Mikaelsen's outstretched hand and looked back down to where Kol was standing, but he wasn't standing there anymore. She looked fearfully at his mother, who simply smiled at her warmly and said, "Don't worry, dear, he has probably gone back to his room." When Ebony nodded, Mrs. Mikaelsen led her down the hall and eventually they stopped in front of a door where his mother brought her inside, revealing a beautiful bathroom.

As she got a bath ready, she told Ebony to take off the ruined shirt. Ebony did as she was told and then awkwardly tried to count the bite marks covering her body as she waited for Mrs. Mikaelsen to finish.

"Oh, my dear," she said, raising herself to stand by Ebony when she saw all the bites. "How many times did my son bite you?"

Ebony shrugged. "Why are you helping me, Mrs. Mikaelsen?" she asked instead. She watched her warily as she shook her head and smiled sadly.

"I'm like you—human. And please, call me Esther."

Ebony furrowed her eyebrows. "Wait, you're human? Then how—"

Esther cut her off as she slightly pulled her toward the large tub. "Get in so you can heal correctly and I'll explain everything to you. It doesn't seem that Kol will kill you anytime soon." Ebony flinched at the choice words, but took off the remaining garments and slipped inside the warm water covered in bubbles.

"We are the Original family." Ebony looked at Esther and cocked her head. "What's your name?" she asked her instead of continuing.

"Ebony."

"Ah, I see." Esther looked away for a minute before looking back into her eyes. "What I mean by _Original_ is that my children are the Original vampires." Ebony's eyes widened. She had danced with the oldest vampires in the history of time? "I, however, am not a vampire. I am a witch."

"Then how—"

"Am I still alive?" Esther finished for her. Ebony nodded. "My son, Niklaus, is a hybrid, Ebony. He is both a vampire and a werewolf." Ebony slipped down into the tub a bit further and simply listened as Esther explained their family history.

* * *

><p>After she'd finished explaining, Esther told her to look at herself. Ebony did so a little confusedly, but was astonished to see that all the bite marks had disappeared—<em>healed<em>. Ebony smiled gratefully at Esther, who then helped her into a towel and robe. Ebony decided to try and get some answers herself.

"Uh, Esther?" she asked as they walked into the room connected to the bathroom—Esther's room.

"Yes?"

"What's Vervain?"

"It is a plant that is harmful against vampires. Do not make the mistake of putting it on or drinking it right now, Ebony, not while Kol has an interest in you, do you understand me?"

"Why?" she asked angrily. "If I'm wearing it, it should protect me from him, right?"

"Yes and no, Ebony. It would protect you from being compelled, or from having him drink your blood if it is in your system—but if Kol found you wearing it or drinking it, he _will_ kill you."

Ebony shivered but nodded. That was one option eliminated. She sighed and waited until she dried off. She spaced out, but Esther brought her back to the scary reality she lived in by telling her one thing.

"Go back to Kol's room, now."

"What?" she asked, scared. "Why? I don't want to go anywhere near him!"

"Ebony." Esther said seriously. "Just tell him I said that you need to go get your clothes from your home. If you're going to be in this house, I will not have you walking around nude. And my and Rebekah's clothes will not fit you and it is inappropriate for you to go around wearing my son's clothing."

Ebony nodded, a plan already forming in her mind at the new information of vampires she now had. If they weren't invited in to a home then they can't enter—if she could get Kol, or anyone really, to take her home, all she had to do was stay inside the house and he wouldn't be able to get to her at all. She left the room in her newly clean undergarments and robe, making her way to Kol's room. She opened the door slowly, looking for Kol inside the large room. She would've thought it was empty but she saw light from the bathroom connecting to his room. She walked inside and stood at the windows and looked outside longingly. She was just about to make a run for it while he was in the bathroom, but when she turned around she saw Kol walking out of the bathroom, clad in only a pair of black skinny jeans, smirking. She looked at him silently and he was suddenly in front of her in quick blur. She jumped unintentionally and it made his smirk grow wider. His hand rose up to her shoulder, and then he was suddenly gripping her chin and lifting her head into an uncomfortable angle.

"I see Mother healed you," he said, his fangs growing pointier by the second and Ebony felt her eyes grow wider in fear. "I saw we make some new ones then."

Before he could strike, Ebony yelled out, "Wait!"

Kol stopped, raising his eyebrow. "What is it?"

"Your mom said to tell you to take me to my house to get clothes because I don't have any here!"

Ebony watched him silently and he breathed through his nose before letting her go and walking over to his closet. He pulled out a black skin tight tee and a pair of sweats and a button-up black shirt a bit smaller than the one she'd worn earlier. Kol looked back at her and threw her the sweats and tee shirt. Ebony looked at him and then the clothes. Kol gave her a "seriously?" look.

"Come on," he said. "It's nothing I didn't see last night." Ebony's face heated up—even though nothing intimate had happened, it was just the suggestive way he said it.

"Jerk!" she yelled at him, slipping off the robe. Kol just smirked and pulled on his dark shirt, buttoning it up with his vampire speed, so he was done quicker. Ebony rolled her eyes and sat on the—still blood stained—bed, pulling on the shirt over her head. Before she could get it over her torso, though, hands were gripping her elbows. She knew it was Kol but she still jumped and tried to pull away—the shirt was still covering her head so she couldn't see anything. She struggled for a bit when he pushed her back on the bed and then she froze completely—she could feel the cold tips of Kol's fangs lightly trace her stomach. She tried to move but found herself immobilized by fear. Before feeling the stinging pain of the bite, though, Kol was suddenly gone and the shirt was falling over her torso and she could see again. She sat up angrily and watched as he chuckled at her from across the room. She glared at him and then pulled the grey sweats on. She had to roll up the waist of it but they still slightly pooled on the bottom of her feet. The shirt was too big for her and she knew she most likely looked like a little kid.

"Let's just go," she muttered quietly, knowing he'd hear her. He only grinned amusedly and walked over to her. She had to force herself not to take a step back when he stopped in front of her. He held out his arm to her and she took it, knowing he only did that because he didn't trust her not running away and causing a scene. He led her through the halls, down the stairs and up until the door. She stopped him, looking at her bare feet.

"What about shoes?"

Kol looked down at her feet and then walked over to a shoe closet—she guessed it was that because when he opened it she saw a whole bunch of shoes—and pulled out a pair of flip flops. He handed them to her and she slipped them on. He grabbed her by the elbow and dragged her outside. She yanked her arm out of his hand once they were on the crowded street. He opened his mouth to most likely threaten her but she cut him off.

"I'm not going to run, I know you can catch me, and I'm not stupid." He smirked and they continued on walking to her house. It would take a while.

When they neared her house, Ebony caught sight of Matt walking. He waved at her and made his way toward them. Before he got to them, she felt Kol's breath near her ear and he whispered, "Don't be long or I'll kill him. He's already angered me enough." Ebony looked at him when he pulled away, wondering when Matt had pissed him off, but then she remembered over hearing them on the balcony. She nodded and smiled falsely at Matt.

"Hey, Ebony," he greeted, then glared at Kol. "Kol."

Kol only glared at him. Ebony cleared her throat awkwardly and said, "Hi, Matt. Where are you going?"

Matt continued to look at Kol, and as if he couldn't help himself, asked, "What are you doing with _him_, Eb?"

Kol seemed to take offense to that and moved forward as if to harm Matt. Ebony didn't want to take a risk at that happening, so she jumped toward Kol and grabbed his hand, intertwining their fingers together. Both boys turned to look at her confusedly.

"Um, well, he _is_ my boyfriend, Matt, so we're just heading over to my house!" she said hurriedly, laughing nervously. Matt opened his mouth, shocked. Kol smirked and took the chance to anger Matt further.

"Of course we are," he said, turning to face Ebony completely. Ebony gave him a scared look and he used his free hand to lift up her chin and kiss her roughly. Ebony's eyes opened wide and she realized she couldn't pull away because if she did, Matt would try to hit Kol or something and get himself killed. She didn't want that to happen, so she just looked into his amused and evil eyes. At first the kiss was chaste, but then Kol's hand went from her chin to the back of her neck, holding her in place and he pried her lips open to deepen it. Ebony felt herself panic and she shut her eyes, waiting for Kol's wet muscle to touch her lips—

"Okay, I don't need proof." Matt's voice gave Ebony a quick excuse to pull away before Kol deepened the kiss completely. She looked at Matt and smiled apologetically before slipping out of Kol's arms. But he continued to hold her hand.

Matt nodded at her and walked away, probably to go to work. Ebony pulled her hand out of Kol's and walked forward.

"Come on."

She decided to ignore the lingering gaze she felt on her back as Kol walked behind her.

* * *

><p>When they reached her house, Ebony quickly walked up to the front doors, knowing her parents were still on vacation. Before she could open the door, though, Kol was suddenly next to her, grabbing her elbow to hold her back.<p>

"Are you going to invite me in once you go inside?" he asked. Ebony swallowed. She looked away and opened the door with her other hand. Kol seemed to think she was just too frightened to answer him. She walked inside and turned to face him. He smirked and waited. She looked at him for about two more seconds, and just as she got ready to do it, the smile slipped off of his face and he knew what she was going to do. She turned around and made to run to the stairs and then she heard Kol curse under his breath. She ran up the stairs, Kol's voice echoing behind her.

"If you don't come outside I am going to kill everyone you've ever cared about and then kill you!"

Ebony ignored him and continued to run up until she reached her bedroom. She didn't bother closing the door behind her. Just in case, she pulled out multiple shirts, pants, undergarments and socks and stuffed them inside a bag.

She then curled up on her bed—still wearing Kol's clothes—and fell asleep to the scent of Kol.

A few hours later Ebony woke up to the sound of her stomach grumbling quietly and the moon shining brightly against the now dark skies. She got out of her bed and went to the hall. She saw Kol sitting against the doorframe, tapping his foot lightly against the porch. Ebony slowly walked down the stairs and when he didn't turn around she realized he must be angry and ignoring her. She walked to the kitchen and couldn't help but feel somewhat guilty. She felt angry at herself because she felt guilty towards him, the vampire who'd almost killed her and then thought it might just be the fact that he'd trusted her and she'd betrayed that trust.

She made herself a sandwich and then poured herself some water. She looked at the door, where Kol was in the same exact position he was the last time she looked at him.

"You, uh," she started awkwardly, "want something to eat or something?"

Kol stood up and looked at her from his spot on the porch. "No, I don't eat human food." Ebony nodded awkwardly. She turned around to get her sandwich and ate it in silence. She looked at Kol after she'd finished it and he was still watching her.

"Are you going to just stay in this house the rest of your life?"

"The rest of my life? You wouldn't be here the whole time!"

"You forget; I am a vampire and I have all the time in the world to wait for you to come out of this house." Kol smirked at her. She rolled her eyes but couldn't help the smile that came across her features.

"Well then, yes, maybe I will."

He chuckled at her and she turned around to get her cup of water. When Ebony gripped the glass of water and took a drink, she heard a loud thud and gasping coming from the door. She turned around quickly and met Kol's surprised eyes as he fell limp on the cement of the porch, a wooden stake protruding from his back. Ebony was so shocked that she dropped her cup and the glass went shattering everywhere. She ran up to the door, stopping at the doorframe near Kol's neutralized body and though she knew he'd come back to life in a few hours she couldn't help but be shocked. She looked up at the sidewalk, where a person was holding onto a bow-gun thing that apparently shot wooden stakes. When she focused on the person hard enough, she was shocked even more at who it was.

It was Alaric Saltzman.


	3. Chapter 3: Feelings

**Disclaimer****: I don't own TVD. Sadly. *heartbreak* If I did Damon would have someone who deserves him and Elena wouldn't be slowly turning into Katherine. And Stefan would have the old, nice, sweet Elena that I liked in season one.**

**Note:**** My friend (who the character **_**Amy**_** is based off) made up a couple name for Kol and Ebony. It's the most hilarious thing ever—**_**Kony**_**. xD She made my day when she made that up. Also, the one for Amy and Elijah is **_**Elmy**_**. Man, I love her. BTW, for the scenes with Kol and Ebony I suggest listening to the song "So Cold" by Ben Cocks because it makes it that much sweeter and more epic. Also, I am so happy, this chapter is 4,843 words long! (without the author note. With this note, it's 4,991 words.)**

_**Warning:**_** This chapter contains a large amount of fluff.**

_**Chapter Three**_

Ebony looked up at her history teacher in shock. As he ran up to them, Ebony walked out of the house slowly to stare open-mouthed between Kol's staked body and Alaric's running form. As he grew closer Ebony realized he had a needle filled with Vervain with him.

"Mr. Saltzman! What are you _doing_?" she nearly screeched as he stopped in front of her and the neutralized vampire.

"Ebony get out of the way, don't you see, he's obviously not human."

"I know that!" she yelled when he lifted his arm up to inject Kol with Vervain. He stopped to look at her. "That won't keep him down for long—"

"He's an Original vampire, Ebony, he has to—"

"Stop!" she screamed when he lowered the Vervain toward Kol's body. Alaric stopped and took another stake out of a bag he had with him. She didn't know why she was trying to make Alaric stop; it was like her voice and body were acting without her permission. She saw Alaric look down at Kol, grip his stake tighter and then he lunged at Kol. Ebony didn't know what compelled her—it certainly wasn't Kol—but she dove over Kol's unprotected body to protect him from the stake he was about to give. Even though she knew it would more likely kill her than him.

She put her body on top of Kol's wrapping her arms around his shoulders and her legs against his. She squeezed her eyes shut and then felt a burning pain in her leg. She screamed in pain and squeezed Kol tight in her agony. Alaric quickly let go of the stake and stood up, stunned. She could feel tears of pain slipping down her face, but she kept from sobbing. She looked down at her thigh to see the wooden stake sticking out of it and blood seeping through the sweats she'd been wearing rapidly. The stake was shoved into her leg deeply, too deep to simply take out. She looked up and met Alaric's guilty eyes.

"Why—Ebony—why did you _do_ that?" he yelled, crouching near her leg to inspect the wound. She breathed heavily and then tried to speak, tears thickening her voice.

"I don't know—it just _hurts_, it really _hurts_…" she trailed off, feeling the darkness already surrounding her like the dots were surrounding her vision.

"Oh God, oh God…" Alaric trailed off and Ebony closed her eyes, relaxing her body on Kol's. She didn't know if it was the loss of blood or how tired she was, but when Alaric's arms went around her to pick her up she struggled and held onto Kol as if letting go of him would kill her. Alaric shushed her and eventually pried her off of him.

"Ebony, I have to call someone for you—"

"No!" she interrupted him quickly. She opened her eyes, turned her head slowly to look at Kol's face and then looked back at Alaric sadly. She grabbed his hand and squeezed it. "Take me to—" she stopped momentarily to groan in agonizing pain when she felt the stake move ever so slightly in her leg. She took a few deep breaths and then squeezed Alaric's hand again. "Take me to their house… Please… bring Kol with us…" When Alaric looked like he was going to argue she looked at him pleadingly and brought her other hand up to grip his with both of hers. "Please, Alaric…" He sighed but otherwise nodded. He made to pick her up and bring her to a car that was waiting a bit down the street but she shook her head, tears still rolling down her cheeks uncontrollably.

"Take Kol first, Alaric. I need to know that you will _take_ Kol too."

Alaric set her down against the house to help her sit up and picked up Kol. He eventually got him to the car and drove the car over to her house. He got out of the car and came up to her. He picked her up and moved her to the car. He made to open the front seat door but she stopped him.

"Put me with Kol."

He nodded and opened the back door. He helped her inside and then held Kol's head up until she sat down. Once she was seated she took Kol's head gently in her hands and set his head down on her lap. She smiled gratefully at Alaric when she remembered her bag—good thing she'd packed. She asked Alaric to get it for her, to which he thankfully did. He put it next to him in the front and drove off to the Originals' mansion.

They reached the mansion in a short amount of time. Ebony had Alaric carry Kol to the front and then she wobbled over and told him to hurry and leave before anyone saw him. Once Alaric's car was safely gone, Ebony banged on the front doors, setting the bag down heavily on the porch. She slid down to sit next to Kol's limp body as she cried in pain and waited for the door to open. The door soon swung open to reveal Elijah, who took one look at them and hurriedly grabbed her. He brought her inside the house to where Rebekah watched her in shock as she tried to walk. Rebekah eventually grabbed her and helped her stand. Elijah came in soon after holding his brother over his shoulder—which made her shudder at the memory of the ball—and her bag in one hand. He called his mother, who came out with Klaus and Finn. They looked at them and then they were all being taken into Kol's room. They set Kol down on the bed, having already taken out the stake and tried to bring her out with them. Ebony refused to go and fell to the ground.

"I want to stay with him!" she yelled, crying. Elijah and Esther gave her knowing looks, Finn and Klaus stayed neutral and Rebekah watched her in confusion. Elijah nodded and then helped her onto the bed to lie down next to Kol. Klaus came up to her and yanked the stake out, causing her to let out a bloodcurdling scream. She sobbed and cried like a young child at the pain and clenched her teeth, gripping onto the sleeve of Kol's dress shirt tightly. Finn bit his wrist and made her drink the blood, and she swallowed it gratefully. She looked down to her healing thigh and sighed, thankful the pain was gone, but it was still sore. As they all left the room, softly closing the door behind them, Ebony looked at Kol's dead face.

"I'll stay with you right now," she whispered to him, knowing he wouldn't hear her. She slowly lay down and pulled the blankets over both of their bodies. She curled up closer to Kol and brought his hand up to his own chest. She put her hand in his and then set her head down on his chest as well. She felt new, hot tears slip down her face and she somehow brought herself closer to his lifeless body.

She closed her eyes and fell asleep quickly, once again to the now soothing smell of Kol Mikaelsen.

* * *

><p>Kol's eyes opened slowly, remembering how he'd been staked by surprise while he was talking with Ebony. He was about to shoot upwards when he took in his surroundings and realized where he was. Then he heard soft breathing and looked down to see Ebony sleeping peacefully, using his chest as her pillow. He also realized that her hand was intertwined with his loosely. He looked at her in shock, believing that she would've ran away once he'd been staked.<p>

"She's been with you the whole time," a feminine voice said from the other side of the room. He looked up into his sister's blue eyes and cocked his head to the side.

"Really?" he asked, disbelieving,

"Really," she replied. She took in a breath before continuing. "She brought you here and had a stake in her leg—she was probably protecting you from it—and when we tried to bring her out with us she threw a fit and refused to leave your side."

Before Kol could reply, Rebekah left and closed the door of his room quietly behind her. Kol let his head fall back down onto his pillow and he set his half-lidded eyes to observe Ebony's face. He focused on her deep, peaceful breathing and the steady beat of her heart. He suddenly remembered that kiss that had meant to simply anger that annoying human boy but had somehow turned into the most confusing thing he'd done. He blinked a few times in astonishment at the sudden thought he'd had, but pushed it to the back of his mind to bury it and never think of it again.

_It was nice kissing this girl._

He fixed their positions so that Ebony was resting against his arm that was now embracing her and brought their intertwined hands up to be between both of their bodies. He rested his chin on top of her head and even though he was craving blood from being dead, he pushed it away so he could secretly enjoy this moment.

Kol closed his eyes to go to sleep once again.

* * *

><p>The next day Ebony woke up alone. She stretched and opened her eyes, looking for Kol, who should have been next to her. Even though she refused to admit it, her hand felt too cold without his in it. She sat up, and at hearing running water, she sighed in relief and got off the bed. She went to her bag and pulled out a pair of loose fitting jeans that hugged her thighs nicely, but pooled out after her knee and a light blue, almost white shirt. After pulling the clothes up, she began to undress, not hearing the sound of the water cut off. She was just folding up her shirt—now she was only wearing her bra and underwear—when the door opened and Kol walked out into the room in only his boxers.<p>

They both froze.

"Kol!" Ebony yelled, jumping onto the bed and pulling the covers up to cover her body. He only stared at her and then a confused look passed onto his face—but it passed by so fast that Ebony was sure she'd imagined it. Kol looked at her blankly and then continued to walk into the room. Ebony stared at him and then decided she might as well just get dressed and made a move to get off the bed. There was a blur of motion and then Ebony was lying on her back on the bed and Kol was on top of her.

She blushed at how little clothing they were both wearing but otherwise said nothing. She only simply rested her hands on his bare chest. He seemed to take in her body hungrily and then eventually met her eyes. She stared at him warily, everything that had happened yesterday flying out of her mind and all she could think about was how good he looked with his wet hair.

"You know," he said, voice only slightly above a whisper. "I haven't fed since waking up last night, and right now you look and smell positively _delicious_." Instead of biting back at him with a retort that would get her killed, Ebony settled for simply replying in the same tone he'd used, but a bit softer.

"Then drink," was all she said. She looked at him softly and before she knew it he was at her neck. But instead of an instant bite and pain in her neck, Kol kissed her right under the earlobe softly, just a small brush of lips that made her shudder involuntarily. She breathed heavily when he started to kiss her down her neck, sometimes leaving open-mouthed kisses. Kol brought his hand up to twine with hers and she gripped his hand just as hard as she thought she could while still being tender. She opened her eyes and looked up at the white ceiling of the room as the sun pooled in over them.

He was being _gentle_ with her.

The thought made Ebony smile. Soon enough his lips softly kissed the part where her neck and shoulder connected and Ebony braced herself for the bite when he lifted his lips to kiss it softly one more time. She gripped his other hand in hers and then held both of his hands on either side of her tightly. He squeezed slightly back before he brought his head slightly up and sunk his teeth into her soft flesh.

"Ngh," Ebony groaned slightly at the pain. Kol sucked and drank her blood, and she could feel herself getting slightly lightheaded. She could feel him get a bit dizzy as well and she removed her hands from his. When he lifted his lips away from her to stare confusedly into her eyes she smiled warmly at him. He opened his mouth to speak, blood slightly beginning to drip down his chin, but Ebony raised a finger to put to his lips, getting some of her blood on it in the process.

"Shhh," was all she told him before she removed her finger to wrap her arms around his neck and tangle one of her hands in his hair. She pushed his head down to her neck again with her hand and he licked the dripping blood off of her shoulder before biting into it once again. She smiled and soon the pain turned into slight pleasure. Her eyes rolled to the back of her head and she tightened her grip on Kol. She was just letting go of all her senses to only focus on _Kol_ when suddenly the door burst open and someone said, "Oh, my!"

Kol let go of her and turned his head back toward the door while Ebony sat up to look over Kol's bare shoulder at the person who'd walked in, though it only brought her closer to Kol's body because he was still leaning over her form.

It was Elijah.

"Excuse me for intruding," he said and then he turned around and left the bedroom, closing the door behind him. Kol and Ebony were both breathing hard and then they looked over at each other. Ebony's breath hitched when Kol looked at her, his face merely centimeters away from hers. She couldn't help but look down at his blood stained lips and then she looked back up to meet his brown eyes. She brought one hand from around his neck to trace over the veins popping out from underneath his eyes. She slowly traced over them, causing Kol to close his eyes. His mouth was still open partly, and before Ebony could stop herself she moved her fingers down to his fangs. She traced over them and she could see the effect that movement had on Kol, for his features relaxed slightly to it. She continued to lightly bring her fingers over them, but then she moved her fingers to his lips.

"Ebony," he whispered against her fingers. She looked up at his eyes and watched them open slowly to look at her. She brought herself closer to him slowly, and just when she was a breath away from kissing him, he was suddenly standing at the other side of the room. Ebony let her hands drop and then blushed, realizing exactly what she was about to do. She coughed awkwardly and brought a hand up to her neck to wipe some blood off of her shoulder. She looked back at Kol, who was facing the wall—away from her. She watched his stiff back before taking in a deep breath, trying to calm down her frenzied heart.

"I'm, uh… going to go take a shower. I can use your bathroom, right?" she asked, moving off of the bed. When he stiffly nodded, still not looking at her, she gathered up her clothes in her arm before making her way to the bathroom. She closed the door and leaned against the sink to take a breath. She soon turned on the water and hopped in the shower once it was hot enough. Ebony let herself relax first before actually starting to do shower-related activities. She thought about what she was about to do—actually _kiss_ Kol!—and blushed. She shook her head and finished her shower. Once she turned the water off she grabbed a white towel from the rack and wrapped it around herself. She stopped to inspect the bite mark left on her shoulder.

"At least it doesn't hurt like the others did," she told her reflection. She looked for another towel to dry her hair with but couldn't find one. After giving up, she dried her body well and got dressed, then used that towel to dry her hair. After she was done, she decided to leave her wet hair down and not brushed. She sighed and opened the door to leave. When she walked into the bedroom she expected to find it empty, but was surprised when she saw Elijah sitting on the edge of Kol's bed. Elijah looked at her and at her confused look he cleared his throat awkwardly and gestured for her to sit down.

"Elijah," she greeted him warily. "Where's Kol?" Elijah looked at her, looked around the room and then back to her. He met her eyes somewhat sadly.

"Ebony," he said at first. "Don't try to change Kol."

Ebony felt taken aback. "What do you mean_ change_ Kol?"

"Don't try to love him, Ebony. It's better for all of us—including you."

Ebony could feel heat rushing to her face at the earlier occurrence that Elijah saw. He must think they were about to have intimate activities.

"Elijah, I'm not trying to love Kol. What you saw earlier, we weren't doing anything, he was just—"

"Feeding on you?" he cut her off with a knowing look. "I know, I could see it. You forget, Ebony, we can hear and see things better than you can and ever will." Ebony looked down at her lap as Elijah continued. "But it would only take a moment's hesitation in Kol's mind that could set him off on a killing spree." Ebony looked back into Elijah's eyes. "Ebony, you do not want to try and break Kol. He is who he _is_ and you cannot change that." This time, Ebony cut him off.

"Elijah, I'm glad you're moral and worried for me and other humans, but I think Kol is starting to see more of a human side to him. We were joking around yesterday before he got staked, and I liked that side of him. Maybe, if I try a bit harder, he'll _be _the person I saw yester—"

"Ebony!" Elijah gripped her shoulders and shook her slightly. "Stop," he whispered. "Do you hear yourself? You are trying to change a thousand year old vampire into a seventeen year old boy. You can't do that." Ebony's eyes hardened.

"Where _is_ Kol, Elijah?"

Elijah shook his head. "Ebony, please—"

"Elijah, please tell me where he is."

Elijah sighed in defeat but decided to respect her decision. He got up to leave the room. "He's at the Grille." Then he was gone. Ebony grabbed a pair of socks and before she even thought of doing it, Elijah reappeared at the door, raised his eyebrows and threw her a pair of sneakers. She smiled gratefully at him before slipping them on and tying the laces. Ebony quickly left the house to make her way to the Grille.

Once there she walked inside and saw Elena Gilbert sitting down at a table with Bonnie Bennett. She looked around but didn't spot Kol immediately, so she walked over to them. They looked up at her and she smiled at her former classmates.

"Hey," she greeted.

"Hi, uh, Ebony?" Elena said. Bonnie simply smiled and replied with a quick "Hey," and then they were just watching her.

"Sorry, this is slightly awkward," she said, causing all three of them to chuckle slightly. "I was just wondering if you guys had seen Kol Mikaelsen?" Ebony watched them expectantly. She furrowed her brows when Elena and Bonnie exchanged worried looks.

Elena spoke first. "Uh, Ebony, I don't think it's a good idea to see any of the Mikaelsen's—"

"Because they're all vampires? I know, Elena." They stared at her in shock. She asked them if they'd seen him once again and when they were about to answer, Ebony looked up, meeting Kol's hard brown eyes. She smiled at him and opened her mouth, but he turned away from her, a glass of alcohol in his hand. She closed her mouth and stared at him, not seeing Bonnie or Elena see him and watch him like she was. Kol looked back at her once and then smirked at a blonde girl who was eyeing him. He grabbed her arm softly and brought her to him. Ebony watched as he said a few things to her, made her giggle and then he brought her closer to him and kissed her full on the lips. Ebony didn't know why she felt like something in her broke. She could feel her eyes stinging but she didn't know why tears were coming to her eyes—she didn't love Kol.

Elena looked up at her and said her name, but Ebony just smiled and shook her head. She didn't know that to Elena and Bonnie, her smile was broken.

"It's okay. I'm just gonna go." And then she turned her back, took in a deep breath and walked out of the Grille. She stopped after a few steps outside the Mystic Grille and took a few more deep breaths. The tears were now gone from her eyes but her throat still felt so constricted that she couldn't speak. She thought of where she should go and decided she didn't want to go to the mansion, she didn't want to be alone at her own house, so she turned on her heel and ran towards the one place she knew there were no secrets.

She ran to Amy's house.

* * *

><p>After arriving at Amy's house, the sun was already setting and she stopped at the front door and knocked a bit hurriedly. The door opened to reveal Amy's mom, Amber. Amber smiled at her.<p>

"Hey, kiddo, you're here to see Amy, right?" Ebony only nodded and after inviting her inside, Ebony made her way up to Amy's room. She knocked on Amy's bedroom door and Amy answered it, looking at her confusedly.

"Ebony, are you okay? You haven't texted me back since—"

Ebony felt the tears finally break loose and she fell into Amy's surprised arms, wrapping her own arms around her best friend. She cried and cried, letting Amy pull her into the room, close the door behind them and then bring her over to sit on the bed. She held her and shushed her, petted her hair gently as she let her cry. After finally calming down a bit, Ebony decided that it was time Amy knew everything.

"It's Kol—no, it's the Mikaelsen family, Amy." At Amy's confused look, she continued, tears still thickening her voice. "They're vampires."

Amy looked at her blankly for a few minutes before she burst out laughing.

"If this is some kind of joke, Ebony—"

Ebony roughly pulled away from her friend. "I'm serious!" When Amy continued to laugh at her, she felt her anger get the best of her. "You want _proof_? Well, I'll _show_ you that I'm right!" Ebony roughly pulled her hair away from her neck to reveal the rough teeth marks on her neck. Amy stopped laughing abruptly and jumped toward her.

"Oh my God, Ebony! What the hell—who _did_ this?"

Ebony felt new tears slide down her cheeks. She only whispered one name. "Kol."

"So he's a vampire? And you've been _with_ him for three days?" Amy looked at her with angry worry.

"No—I wasn't there because I wanted to be!" Lie. "I was there because I was too afraid to leave!" Partly true. "But…" Ebony could feel herself begin to sob as she tried to explain. "I can't lie to you, Amy. I had him take me home because apparently vampires can't go inside a house a human lives in unless they're invited in by the owner." Amy had them both sit down on the bed and Ebony took a deep breath before continuing. "I went inside, and I saw a more human side to Kol, but then Alaric—yeah, our old history teacher—staked him and killed him—"

"Wait, you're here crying because he's _dead_? Shouldn't you be happy?"

"No, he can't _die_, not anymore, Amy. He's an Original vampire. One of the first vampires ever created." At Amy's shocked face, Ebony kept going. "Anyway, Alaric killed him, and I knew he'd come back to life, and I don't know what came over me, but I think because I saw Kol the way he was at that time, I felt like I _had_ to stay with him, so Alaric took us to the mansion and I stayed with him." Ebony purposely left out the fact that she'd slept next to him all night.

"After he _bit_ you? Is it like that from yesterday?" Ebony had to tell her.

"No, it was… a lot worse at first. The night of the ball, Damon Salvatore killed him and Finn Mikaelsen took me to a room where he was and locked me in. I was so scared…" she trailed off at a whisper, tears thickening her voice even more. She sobbed harder. "Anyway, he bit me all over my body that night. But his mom, Esther—she's a witch, she's still human. She's alive because another witch preserved her body and she came back the night before the ball and she healed me the next morning." Before Amy could interrupt her, she continued, and she didn't realize that the words were falling out of her mouth and that she couldn't stop even if she wanted to. "I thought we were closer after what happened, and then I let him drink from me, but he didn't hurt me this time, he was being gentle, and—oh Amy!" She hugged her friend, who hugged her back. "I went to the Grille to go see him but he ignored me and kissed some older girl. I don't even know why I'm crying!"

That night she cried herself to sleep.

* * *

><p>A few hours later, in the middle of the night, Ebony woke up in the arms of her friend. She could hear faint knocking at the door and sat up, removing herself from her best friend. She walked down the steps as quietly as she could and opened the door. As sleepy as she was, Ebony's eyes were now wide open and scared.<p>

It was Elijah.

"Come," he said to her, not even looking at her. Ebony glared, tears coming to her eyes again, but her voice was hard.

"No."

"Ebony, don't be irrational and come with me."

"_No_."

Elijah finally looked at her and then looked deeply into her eyes. Ebony knew what was going to happen but she was too late to look away.

"Come outside, Ebony."

She took one step out of the doorframe and Elijah grabbed her arm, dragging her with him. She opened her mouth to scream when he looked at her again and said, "Don't scream, don't struggle, _don't_ make a scene and come obediently."

They walked to the mansion in silence.

When they reached the large home and went inside Elijah let go of her arm. She looked up at him and finally spoke.

"Is Kol here yet?"

"No."

Elijah left her alone after that and Ebony hugged herself in a pitiful way. She could feel the tears sliding down her eyes once more and she slowly made her way up the stairs. Once she reached the door to Kol's room, she opened it slowly, taking in the empty bedroom.

She didn't want to sleep in that bed.

Ebony shook her head at herself and wiped her eyes. She changed into her pajamas and sat down on the edge of the bed. She scooted over to the side she usually slept on and laid down, covering herself with the blankets. She brought them up to her chin and hugged herself tightly.

"It shouldn't matter whether or not I sleep in the bed, I shouldn't even feel angry," she whispered to herself. "It's not like I'm his _girlfriend_ or anything. I don't like him that way, I don't even really like him as a friend." Ebony closed her eyes and tried to go to sleep.

Too bad she didn't believe herself.


	4. Chapter 4: Compulsion

**Note:**** Hey! So, I just wanted to let you guys know that I'm probably only going to update over the **weekends** because I have a horrible case of procrastination with homework, which means I don't do it until Sunday night, **_**which**_** means I usually write chapters during that time period to keep myself busy and have a reason not to do my homework. Someone pointed out to me that it's strange how quickly Ebony was falling for Kol, and I really did take that into consideration. My reason being that she only saw him as a monster, but after seeing that tiny glimpse at a gentler side of Kol (before Alaric staked him) she thought maybe she could be friends with him. But when Alaric staked him, she panicked and after seeing the possibility of becoming his friend, she freaked out and stayed with him. Kol got confused, and she started to think that maybe she could even learn to love him, but as Kol is a 1,000 year old vampire who doesn't "love" humans, once he was confused over how he felt toward her, he did the thing that most vamps tend to do in TVD. He went to get drunk xD but then Ebony shows up, and at his confusion toward her, he saw a girl eye-raping him, so he decided to take her to sedate his hunger, thinking it might make all the confusion he's feeling go away.**

**Warning:**** Sadness. Compulsion. Hurt.**

**Slight A/N:**** Sorry it's so short, I ran out of time and couldn't make it any longer. Promise that next chapter will be longer, just remember it probably won't be up until Friday night.**

_**Chapter Four**_

Ebony woke up to the bright light of the fluorescent bulb in the room. She cracked her tired eyes open and gazed at the window, which showed absolutely no sign of sunshine. She turned over onto her back and looked at the bedroom door, where a bloodstained Kol was stumbling. At first she thought he was hurt, so she sat up, but then her eyes spotted a sadistic smile over his face, slightly hidden by blood that was messily caked open his face, as if he hadn't cared much except for the thrill of the kill.

"Ebony," he said in a sing-song voice that made her shiver. He was a monster—she moved slightly back on the bed, trying to get away from him. His eyes were now half-lidded and his smile was gone. "I see you moving away from me, _dear_."

In a flash he was in front of her and Ebony jumped—nearly screamed. Everything she'd felt from before was slowly disappearing with every breath she took. She could now see the monster he truly was. He was unstable; too unstable to actually care for anyone but himself. Ebony stared into his eyes, afraid to move away from him. Kol watched her with hard eyes and when Ebony smelled his breath she realized he was drunk.

Even better.

"Ebony, don't be afraid." Kol had a smile on that resembled a child who was playing with a doll they'd just ruined. Ebony felt her nerves go crazy and she wished nothing more than to get away from him. She wished Elijah hadn't come to get her, or that she'd closed the door in his face so he wouldn't have compelled her to come. Ebony looked down at his mouth and had to hold back a scream when she saw all the fresh blood on his face and how his fangs were already starting to point in hunger. Ebony moved away slightly on the bed.

"Get away from me," she whispered. Suddenly Kol's face was hard and he gripped her head in lightning speed. Ebony's hand went up to grab his to get him away from her and she looked away from him, shutting her eyes. She could feel his breath on her neck and she almost started to cry in absolute terror. It was like the first night all over again.

"I said _don't be afraid_." His voice was hard and emotionless. Ebony pushed her hand out at his face, but once he'd grabbed her wrist she knew he was going to bite her. He gripped onto her harder as she tried to pull away.

"Let go of me!" she screeched, trying to back away. Kol's eyes had turned red with bloodlust and before Ebony could even comprehend it, there was a stinging pain in her wrist. She let out a scream of pain and terror at the same time and tried to pull away. She looked at his face as she held back another scream and could see the veins under his eyes dancing and bulging in the fluorescent lighting above them. Soon his eyes snapped open and he looked up at her and then he was letting go of her wrist. Ebony brought her hand up to her chest and cradled it, staring accusingly at Kol.

At the monster she thought she could be friends with.

His brown eyes met hers and then he grabbed her face between his hands and made her look at him when she tried to pull away. Ebony could see the blood on his teeth and how he looked at her like a hunter would look at his prey. But that's what they were, weren't they?

A hunter and his prey.

Ebony looked fearfully into his eyes and wondered how she didn't see this earlier. He watched her with hard, emotionless eyes and she remembered how she'd felt when she stayed with him when he was staked. But then, in a quick blur, he was at her neck, biting in roughly. Ebony let out a voiceless scream and gripped his head and shoulders, trying to push him off of her. Kol's arm went around her waist and his other gripped the back of her head to keep her neck exposed for him. Ebony struggled and pushed more, pain blinding her vision. He drank and drank—he didn't stop. Ebony could feel her life slowly draining and her grip on reality was slowly fading. Ebony tried one more time, grabbing onto his broad shoulders underneath his shirt and tried to push him away. He didn't budge. Kol only gripped her tighter and bit down harder and Ebony could feel her body slowly shutting down. She took in one last lung full of oxygen, let out a strangled noise, and then she fell limp in Kol's arms.

* * *

><p>Kol didn't want to stop. He drank and drank and drank, trying to quench his thirst and satisfy his hunger. He didn't even notice when Ebony fell limp in his arms—there was just something about this girl, he thought, that made him want to be the best for her.<p>

The door burst open, but Kol didn't lift his head from Ebony's white neck. He kept drinking but then something knocked into his jaw and sent him spiraling over the bed and onto the floor. He stood up quickly, baring his fangs menacingly at his attacker. He lunged at his older brother, but as soon as he had, Elijah had him pinned to the wall by his throat. Kol stopped, let his face contort back into his regular humanized face and glared down at his brother. Elijah let go of him and went over to inspect Ebony's unconscious form. Kol finally looked over at the damage he'd caused and didn't understand why his heart started beating rapidly when he saw the blood flowing out of the girl's neck rapidly. Elijah turned around, glared at Kol slightly and then picked Ebony up. Before Kol could react, Elijah and Ebony were gone.

Kol felt himself stumble off of the wall in shock and he looked toward the door that Elijah had left quickly from. He looked down at himself and his appearance—he was covered in Ebony's blood. He knew that Elijah would most likely have taken her to the hospital simply because he didn't want anyone to turn into a vampire like they had. Kol went to the bathroom to clean himself up before going to the hospital.

When he got there, Elijah said nothing, only left and Kol was left to sit down in the hospital chair, wondering if Ebony would wake up or not.

* * *

><p>Ebony's eyes opened slowly and she could hear a faint beeping. She felt something on her neck and she felt her heart beat quicken and she sat up as fast as she could. Once she did, she cringed at the pain it brought in her head. She groaned and looked around, observing the white room she was in.<p>

She was in the hospital?

She stopped and looked around, freezing when she saw a figure sitting in the chair next to her bed. She met Kol's brown eyes and looked at him warily. He got up and moved toward her bed and she backed away from him.

"Lay down," he told her softly. "You still need to heal."

"Get away from me," she whispered venomously. He looked at her with a mask devoid of emotion and she knew she'd gotten roped in with a monster. He reached out to caress her cheek but she flinched at his touch and he moved his hand back to rest in his pocket. "Don't you dare touch me," she said to him, glaring. She reached up to touch the wound on her neck that was covered in a white gauze to stop the bleeding. She felt herself get dizzy but refused to lie down—she wouldn't do what he told her to do!

"You know," he mused, still watching her in an emotionless way, "I only kept you for entertainment."

Ebony laughed humorlessly and nodded. "Figures."

Kol took in a deep breath and then looked down at the rail of the bed and softly traced over it with his fingers. "But you were so different." He looked up at her and she couldn't move her eyes away. Kol leaned over to look into her eyes better, but kept his distance as to not scare her. "I wanted to observe you, see how you worked. I need you to know something, Ebony." She blinked and stared at him warily as he moved a bit closer, gripping her cheek softly. She didn't flinch this time. "You deserve your own life, and I shouldn't be getting in the way of that. You shouldn't know about us—about nature's abomination. You need to live your regular human life, and I'm going to make sure you do just that." Ebony furrowed her eyebrows as she saw a sad smile cross across his face.

"What do you mean?" she whispered. He leaned up a bit to softly brush his lips over her forehead in a comforting gesture—she didn't know which one of them he was trying to comfort, though. He looked back down at her and she stared at him in confusion. She didn't have time to look away before she saw his pupils start to expand and retract quickly. At the moment, she was lost in his gaze.

"You are going to forget about vampires. You won't remember anything that has happened between anything supernatural and yourself—all you remember is dancing with Kol Mikaelsen at the ball 4 nights ago and you haven't seen him since. Do you understand?"

Ebony slowly nodded automatically and replied with, "I understand," before Kol brushed both of his hands against her cheeks. His smile faltered into a frown.

"Close your eyes," he whispered, and she could feel her eyelids grow heavy and she closed her eyes. There was a small brush of cold air against her skin and when she opened her eyes, she was alone. Ebony looked around and then lay back down on the bed, closing her eyes to get a good rest.

She only slightly wondered why there had been tears in her eyes.


	5. Chapter 5: Fearful Encounter

**Notes:**** Sorry, btw, I had to change some things that they say (a few words every here and there) to match up with the timeslot of the fanfic I have going here. :3 so yeah. The next few chapters will be about Kol's little trip when he "leaves" Mystic Falls. Because of the stupid hiatus TVD is going on. It makes me sad. Anyway, a little warning that I might not be able to update tomorrow night because I have to go to my uncle's surprise birthday party. Cos he's sick, so my aunt decided to throw him a surprise b-day party to make him happy, you know, being surrounded by his loving family and friends. So, yeah. But, I'll try my best.**

**Warnings:**** Spoilers for episode 3x15 if you haven't watched it.**

_**Chapter Five**_

Ebony stretched as she entered her house, Amy walking in behind her. She smiled—it felt like forever since she'd been home. Amy sat down in the kitchen and looked at her expectantly. Ebony sat in the chair next to her and looked at her awkwardly before speaking.

"What?"

Amy gave her a disbelieving look. "What do you mean 'what'? Those marks on your neck…" she trailed off, gesturing at the large bandage still on her neck. She touched it gently, shivering for an unknown reason. She looked at Amy.

"What about them?"

"Ebony, I'm being serious. Did Kol do that to you?"

"Kol _Mikaelsen_?" she asked. All she could remember of him was when they were dancing. Besides that, she couldn't really remember much over the past few days. She gave her best friend a "seriously" look while Amy sighed irritably. Amy rubbed her neck awkwardly.

"You know, about how they're…"

Ebony raised a sculpted brow. "They're what?"

Amy sighed dejectedly. "_Vampires_! Don't you remember? It was yesterday, you explained most everything to me! You said they were vampires and Kol had bitten you. You even showed me the mark!"

Ebony felt a pain nudge her in the back of her head as she saw a flash of red eyes before it was suddenly gone. She looked at Amy blankly for a few moments before bursting out laughing. Eventually she calmed down and she looked at Amy seriously. "Vampires? Are you _insane_, Amy? Are you hanging with those crack heads again?"

"Hey! That was _one_ time!"

"One time too many…" Ebony giggled as Amy playfully hit her shoulder. They grew silent and Amy opened her mouth to say something when the doorbell rang. She smiled apologetically at Amy before making her way toward the front door. Once she reached it, she opened it to find Elijah Mikaelsen. To say she was shocked would be an understatement.

"Elijah," she said, still shocked. "Uh, what brings you here?"

He looked at her seriously, then inside the house. "It's not something I'd want to discuss over the porch, may I come inside?"

Something nagged at Ebony to say no and shut the door in his face. She figured that would be rude, as she didn't know much about him, so she settled for repressing that strangely strong urge and she simply smiled, opening the door a bit wider. "Of course, please come in."

He walked in slowly and Ebony shook off the feeling of fear as she watched him walk toward the kitchen. Once they'd both reached the kitchen, Amy's eyes widened and she stood up from the seat. She smiled nervously at Elijah and nodded at him, but when she spoke her voice cracked a bit.

"Hello, Elijah."

"Nice to see you again, Amy," he replied. He smiled politely at her before offering her his arm. He looked at Ebony and said, "If you don't mind, I must insist that Miss Amy accompany me to a little chat." Ebony tried hard to resist smiling widely as Amy's face grew red in color and nodded quickly.

"No problem." As they left through the door, before closing it, Ebony couldn't help but yell out, "Have fun, you kids!" And then she cackled madly before closing the door, not missing the look of embarrassment on Amy's face. After sitting around for a few minutes, though, she decided she was bored with her parents still not back and to go to the Grill wouldn't be such a bad idea.

She had no idea how wrong she was.

* * *

><p>Ebony walked into the Grill, sweater over her arm as she made her way inside. She smiled at a few people she recognized and then sat down at a table alone. She was thinking about what to order when she saw Alaric and the new doctor, Meredith—or Doctor Fells—talking in hushed whispers. She heard the door open and looked over a few heads to see who'd walked in.<p>

It was Klaus and Kol Mikaelsen.

She lifted her brows and moved to sit a few tables closer, giving in to her curiosity and wanting to hear everything they said—because she was just that curious.

"Oh come on now," Klaus said, voice deep and loud. "Let's not go blaming the new family in town just 'cos you lot have got yourselves a killer at large." There was a tension filled pause as Kol simply leaned against the bar and watched them. Alaric was too busy glaring at Klaus to notice how Meredith looked even a bit frightened, but was clever enough to hide it just in time. Ebony couldn't help but want to eavesdrop more after hearing this. She'd heard about the killings, but what did the Mikaelsen's have to do with it? They'd started before they came to town. "Don't mind us," Klaus continued. "My brother and I are just here to let off some steam, right Kol?" Ebony looked between Kol and Meredith, clearly noticing the looks of disdain they were giving each other—though Kol's looked like simple, dark amusement. It made Ebony shudder involuntarily.

"Right," he said, still watching Meredith with his cold calculating eyes. Meredith's frightened look reappeared on her face as she looked down from Kol's eyes. Ebony didn't know why she'd felt a clench in her stomach at hearing his voice. Alaric looked at Meredith, who looked back at him, afraid and then Alaric looked back over at the two brothers.

Eventually, as Ebony looked down at her menu, she noticed Meredith and Alaric walk over to the pool table and Meredith started to play while Alaric talked to someone on his phone. Ebony ordered a quick small meal with fries to help her look innocent if one of them looked over at her. She looked up at Alaric, trying to hear his conversation.

"So what's the plan?" she heard him say quietly, straining her ears to hear him. She couldn't hear the person he was talking to, though she saw Alaric look over at the door and she followed his gaze to see Caroline Forbes walk in and as she slowly passed by him and Meredith, Alaric brought his phone away from his ear. She gave them a look and continued to walk. Ebony looked over at the Mikaelsen brothers just as Kol spoke, pointing at Caroline.

"I remember her from last time," Kol spoke to his brother, who was watching Caroline rather intensely. "She looks like a tasty little thing," he continued, looking over at his brother mockingly.

"Say another word and I'll tear out your liver," Klaus replied. Ebony was sure her face must have looked appalled, yet neither brother noticed her, as they were both too busy staring at the blonde girl. She didn't know why that made her uncomfortable. As Caroline walked over and past them, Klaus called out, "Caroline." She stopped and looked at him, her facial expression irritated.

"Oh," she said. "It's you." She folded her arms over her chest as Klaus looked awkward and Kol looked amused, still watching the girl.

"Join us for a drink?" Klaus asked hopefully and Kol left his face neutral as he lifted up his glass. Caroline watched Kol and then turned back to Klaus. She smirked before speaking, cocking her head to the side slightly.

"I'd rather die of thirst, but _thaaanks_." She shrugged a shoulder up before turning around and walking away. Klaus looked slightly taken aback but Ebony wasn't sure he was because soon after it was replaced by an amused smile.

Klaus leaned back against the bar and spoke to Kol, though his eyes remained on Caroline's retreating back. "Isn't she stunning?" he asked Kol as he took a sip from his cup. Kol smiled amusedly as he watched Caroline as well.

"She certainly looks good walking away from _you_," he told his brother, amusement clearly draped all over his words. Klaus turned to set his glass on the counter before looking into Kol's eyes.

"I'll take that as a challenge," he said, though Ebony had to strain herself to hear him. He walked after Caroline, Kol watching him with a smug smile on his face. Ebony had to look down to avoid meeting Kol's eyes and she quickly picked up a fry, plopping it in her mouth. She peeked a glance up at where Kol should have been, but he wasn't there anymore. She furrowed her eyebrows as she looked around, finally noticing him take his jacket off and make his way toward Meredith, who was still playing pool. He watched her for a bit before slowly walking toward her.

"A woman of your caliber ought to choose more suitable company," he told her as he finally reached her. He bent down, almost whispering in her ear as he spoke his next words, and Ebony was thankful she'd sat closer to the pool table, for she could hear and understand them better. She continued to pick at her food as she watched them. "What's your name, love?" he said quietly to Meredith and Ebony didn't understand the slight pang she felt when he uttered the word "love".

Meredith stood straight and walked to the side of the pool table, watching the balls with great intensity as she spoke to Kol. "None of your business." Kol had a very serious expression as he straightened himself and made his way toward her again.

"Let's try that again—I'll start. I'm Kol," he drawled out his name slightly, still walking over to Meredith as she replied to him, again not sparing him a glance.

"Why don't you get lost, _Kol_." It wasn't a question.

"And why would I do that?" he asked, still watching her. As Meredith walked away from him, he set his pool stick on the table and followed her. "I like pretty little things with sharp tongues." She walked up to the wall, setting her stick down as well and turned, though Kol was standing in front of her. Ebony had to force herself to watch for some reason as Kol reached his hand up to lightly brush his knuckles against her cheek, though Meredith slapped his hand away and glared at him. Before either of them could speak, though, Ebony saw Alaric walk behind Kol.

"I'm pretty sure she told you to get lost," he said. Kol didn't turn around, still watching Meredith as he replied to Ebony's former history teacher. Ebony wished she could see Kol's expression from here, but all she saw was his muscled back.

"I'm pretty sure I don't care," he said quietly—deadly. Though Ebony had to hold back a gasp as Kol turned to face Alaric and he stabbed him in the chest with something. Ebony jumped in her seat and watched in horror as Kol groaned and screwed his eyes shut, falling against Alaric, who continued to keep the dagger in his chest. Meredith walked away from the wall, standing behind Alaric. Ebony watched, fear clouding her judgement as Kol's skin turned a slimy shade of grey. Ebony only caught what Alaric said because she was watching them so intently.

"Next time," he nearly whispered to the now dead Kol, "take a hint."

Alaric carried him out and Ebony felt herself stare at them as they left, quickly pulling out enough money to cover the meal she hadn't really eaten. She hurriedly left after the three that had retreated, leaving her sweater and phone on the table in her haste to follow them, not hearing the loud buzzing her phone made on the table, the name of the caller reading _Amy_.

* * *

><p>She followed them out and hid as she watched Alaric drag him out, struggling with his weight.<p>

"Here, grab 'im," he said and Ebony peeked around the corner slightly to see Damon and Stefan Salvatore waltz to Alaric. She hid quickly before they saw her and heard Damon speak.

"Tell the sexy Doctor 'good work'." Ebony felt her chest tighten at the image of a dead man who certainly did not look human with that grey shade to his body when suddenly there was a gust of wind an Klaus was standing in front of the other men. He took the dagger out of Kol and threw Alaric to the wall and Ebony flinched at the sound of cracking as Alaric slid down to the floor. Stefan growled and charged at the brother, but Klaus simply grabbed him and threw him over to the stairs roughly. Stefan landed hard on the stone stairs, and Ebony didn't even see the blur of movement that was Klaus throwing him—they were all moving too fast. Ebony saw Klaus glare at the stock still Damon Salvatore.

"I should've killed you _months_ ago," Klaus said to the elder Salvatore and Ebony could feel her heart racing—these men before her were not human. Except for maybe Alaric, he seemed pretty human to her. Damon looked at Klaus boldly.

"Do it," he said. "It's not going to stop Esther from killing you." Who's Esther? Ebony thought to herself, though she felt like she should know this name.

"What did you say about my mother?" Klaus asked lowly, stalking toward Damon dangerously. She nodded to herself, remembering the woman now.

"You didn't know I was friends with your _mummy_?" Damon mocked, using the British version of the word mom to mock him more. "Yeah, we have a lot in common," Damon continued. Ebony saw Damon's lip rise in a snarl. "She hates you as much as I do." Klaus was in front of Damon in a blur and Ebony almost gasped, but the voice of Elijah rung through the air.

"Leave him." Klaus backed away from Damon slowly, looking up at the brother at the top of the stairwell. Ebony thanked whoever was watching over her that none of them had noticed her—they'd have probably killed her right away. "We still need him, Niklaus." Ebony rested her back against the wall she was hiding behind, her chest rising quickly, matching the pace of her breaths.

"What did Mother do?" Klaus's voice said quietly. Ebony couldn't bring herself to look, so she only listened. Even if she'd wanted to leave, she wouldn't be able to, for they'd most likely hear her footsteps. When there was silence, Klaus spoke again, voice urgent. "What did she do, Elijah?"

Ebony heard Elijah walk down the stairs and she forced herself to peek again as Elijah took out a phone and held it out for Damon to see. "You tell me where the witches are, or I'll have my sister kill Elena right now." Ebony's eyes widened as she thought, He's going to KILL Elena Gilbert? What in the world is going on?

Damon looked up before speaking. "You told me we had until after nine."

"I'm sure Rebekah will be more than happy to start her work early." Damon looked at him with a pained expression and Ebony could feel her knees weakening. She rested against the wall once again, thinking about how no one seemed to have ever realized something was terribly wrong with this town.

Not even her.

* * *

><p>After the Salvatore's left and Alaric was taken by Meredith, Kol had reawakened and the three siblings had left quickly. She thanked whoever was watching her again that they seemed to be walking at a normal pace—no blurs. She followed them at a safe distance until she saw blazing fires from a bit further up. She continued to follow silently until she was close enough to hear them, yet far enough to remain unseen. She saw Bonnie and Abby Bennett walk into the old house and Finn Mikaelsen standing inside a pentagon shape with a star in the middle. Esther stared at her sons. She stepped into the circle and said calmly to the family she was about to apparently kill, "My sons, come, step forward."<p>

Finn raised his arm to shield his mother. "Step aside."

"It's okay," she said, continuing to walk to the middle, next to her son. "They can't enter."

Kol was the one who stepped closest, trying and failing to enter the circle, where the flames grew angrier at his close range. His voice was hard as he spoke, walking around the protected family he had.

"That's lovely," he told them and Ebony shuddered in fear at his voice as she pressed herself harder on the tree. "We're stuck out here, while the _favorite_ son plays sacrificial lamb." Ebony realized his tone was slightly bitter. She peeked from behind the tree to watch the inhuman family. "How pathetic you are, Finn."

"Be _quiet_, Kol," Esther spoke coldly to her youngest son and Ebony held back a flinch—a family shouldn't be like this, no matter what they are, she thought. "Your brother knows virtue you cannot even imagine."

"Whatever you think of us, killing your own children would be an atrocity," Elijah said, voice the hardest Ebony has ever heard.

"My only regret," Esther said, voice still calm for a woman who was about to kill her children, "is that I did not let you die a thousand years ago." Ebony gripped the tree for support as she watched in confusion and fear. _A_ _thousand years ago_? She thought, brows furrowing.

"Enough," Klaus finally said, voice also hard, yet the quietest of all his siblings. "All this talk is boring me. End this now _Mother_, or I'll send you back to hell." Ebony couldn't believe what she was seeing and hearing. She held onto the tree harder, still watching in disbelief. Her stomach clenched in anxiousness and she felt like being back home again. Esther walked slowly toward them from within the guarded circle.

"For a thousand years I've been forced to watch you; feel the pain of every victim; suffered while you shed blood." Ebony felt herself go lightheaded as she had sudden memories of _blood, blood, blood_. She gripped her head and closed her eyes for a few seconds before opening them to force herself to watch what was happening. "Even you, Elijah," she continued, switching her gaze. "With your claim to nobility, you're no better. All of you." Her gaze went to all three of the sons she planned to kill. Ebony looked down, thinking about how painful it must be, yet they all showed only bitterness, and no betrayal or hurt. "You're a _curse_ on this Earth," she told them and the three men stood standing still, watching them. "Stretched out over generations. If you've come to plead for your life," she continued, and Ebony felt something inside of her drop heavily as she realized their mother really was planning on murdering her own children. Ebony felt sick. "I'm sorry." Ebony thought she heard a faint thickness of tears in her voice, but she wasn't so sure when she continued speaking.

"You've wasted your time."

* * *

><p>Suddenly, Esther's eyes closed and she yelled out, "No! Sisters! Do not abandon me!" The fire grew in size and heat and Ebony saw Finn grab their mother and pull her away before deciding to turn and run. Ebony had to get away, fast. She ran quickly, hoping they were too distracted to notice her, which they thankfully were.<p>

She finally made it back to the Grill and she walked inside, breathing hard. She saw Matt and walked over to him, asking if he'd seen her sweater and phone. When he nodded and pulled them out for her, she thanked him. He noticed the fear in her eyes and asked what was wrong.

"Oh, nothing," she said, still breathing furiously hard. "I just went running and, uh, you know, realized I forgot my things, so I had to run back to get them." Matt didn't seem to believe her but nodded anyway. She smiled in thanks and started walking outside. The fresh air hit her roughly and she stopped for a few moments to breathe. Soon she heard someone come up behind her and she jumped when a hand landed on her shoulder. She turned quickly, seeing Matt's amused face.

"Whoa there, girl," he said as he laughed. She laughed with him, trying to calm her frantic heart. "I just ended my shift, actually, and I was going home. You want a lift?" Ebony nodded, smiling thankfully. She could feel slight heat build up in her cheeks as she followed Matt to his car and they drove in silence.

When they reached her house and Matt parked in front of her driveway, she made to get out, but Matt's hand caught hers. She looked back into his oh-so-blue eyes and gave him a confused look. He did nothing but simply pull her toward him and kiss her lips and she closed her eyes, the only thought she had being, _Oh his lips are so soft._ He kissed her a bit longer and then pulled away. She smiled shyly at him before bidding him farewell and getting out of the car to go to her house. She opened the door and waved as he drove off. She smiled gleefully to herself as she walked inside, closing and locking the door behind her. She was about to take her shoes off when she heard a noise from upstairs. She stopped, looking up at the stairs fearfully. She went to the kitchen, sliding out a knife from the drawer as she slowly made her way up the stairs. She held the knife with both of her hands, heart slamming against her ribcage again. She reached her room, where she pushed open the door with her foot, peering inside. She looked around the empty room, noticing the open window. She walked over to the window, still gripping the knife with one hand. She looked out and then felt a breath at the back of her neck. She turned around, stabbing her attacker in the gut. She heard a slight "Ugh," before looking up into Kol Mikaelsen's brown eyes. He looked down at the knife and took it out slowly. He looked at the blood and Ebony watched as he dropped it to the carpeted ground, blood splattering against the soft white. She looked back up at Kol.

"Kol Mikaelsen?" she questioned, still breathing hard. She looked away when she realized just how close he was and she tried to back away, realizing that she was already pressed against the wall. She pressed her palms against the blue wall and looked back up at him. He cocked his head to the side, his face nearing hers in a few seconds. His lips were so close to hers that she could feel his warm breath on her lips. She tried to push herself into the wall as she looked back up at his eyes. She stayed silent.

"Yes, I do believe that is the name I was given," he whispered. Ebony closed his eyes as he spoke, every word he uttered, every movement of his lips making them very slightly brush over hers. She looked back up at him as she asked him a question.

"What do you want?"

Kol's eyes hardened slightly and he tenderly grabbed the back of her head as he smiled coldly at her.

"I want to take you with me, sweetheart."

And then her head was smashed against the wall roughly and her world faded into black, the last thing she felt being Kol's arms picking her up as she fell limp against him.


	6. Chapter 6: Confessions, History, Promise

**Note:**** This and the following chapters will be completely non-show related. Cos they are about Kol and Ebony when Kol leaves Mystic Falls in episode 15. So… yeah. Enjoy. Sorry I couldn't update yesterday, surprise party went until midnight, and then I passed out in the car on our way home xDx and then I came home and my little sister wanted to sleep with me so I had to put away my laptop. Sorry again. Also, I made this chapter extra-long for you guys to make up for not being able to update yesterday. I hope you like it!**

**Warnings:**** Fake history from Kol's past because we actually don't know anything about him besides the fact that he is very unstable. You know, considering he's technically only been in 2 episodes, not counting the one where he first appears because he was in like one scene and only said three words.**

**Disclaimer:**** I do not own TVD, but I wish I did…**

_**Chapter Six**_

Ebony's green eyes opened slowly, blinking rapidly. She knew she was in a moving vehicle for her body was bumping up and down. She looked out a window—so she was in a car?—and only saw darkness. She closed her eyes and groaned slightly when she felt pain in the back of her head. She moved her head from the headrest behind her to the left and saw Kol Mikaelsen driving. She instantly sat up and pressed herself against the door. He didn't even look at her.

"You know," he said, voice void of emotion. "Nik taught me how to drive this contraption." Ebony gripped the seatbelt as she stared at him. She realized that he probably wasn't going to hurt her, so she tried to relax against the passenger seat. Her body relaxed slightly but she could still feel the tension in her shoulders and back. She looked out at the highway laid out in front of them. The car passed under a few lights and she stayed silent. After a few moments of odd silence, Ebony reached her hand out toward the radio. Kol's hand grabbed hers in a blur and he removed his eyes from the road to stare at her. Ebony looked up at him fearfully.

"I'm just going to turn on the radio," she said, staring into his dark eyes. He looked confused for a minute and she continued with, "You know, the _radio_, for _music_." His hand let go of hers and gripped the steering wheel of the car once again, his eyes returning to the road. She continued to reach out, her hand pressing the dial and then turning it to raise the volume. She smiled slightly at the song as she recognized it as "Set Fire to the Rain" by Adele. She hummed with it and slightly sung along with it as she raised the volume high.

"But there's a side to you that I never knew, never knew; All the things you say, they were never true, never true; All the games you play, you would always win, always win," she sang and when she saw Kol glance at her in a puzzled way she shut up in fear. Kol's eyes returned to the road in front of him and Ebony just realized how fast they were going. She swayed her head slowly as she looked out the window at the blurring shapes in the night. She tried to look for the moon—a habit she had since she was little—but stopped and sat back when she couldn't find it.

The song changed suddenly to "DJ Got Us Falling in Love Again" by Usher. She could feel her foot tapping with the drum beat of the song and she smiled wider, forgetting that she was in a car with a monster that she didn't know. She could feel her body swaying left and right with the music and she closed her eyes. The memories of the school dance a year ago flowed into her mind and she had to hold back a laugh.

The song soon ended and she smiled even wider if possible when "You Make Me Feel" by Cobra Starship rung through the speakers. She bounced along to the music in her seat. She sang along to the song, completely forgetting Kol was in the car with her and when the song ended she rested her back against the seat. Another song started playing "A Thousand Years" by Christina Perry started to flow into her ears. She closed her eyes and smiled. She could feel herself drifting off into sleep, the last thing she heard being "Darling, don't be afraid—I have loved you for a thousand years; I'll love you for a thousand more…" and the soft piano playing against the lyrics.

* * *

><p>Ebony woke up to someone carrying her out of the car. She cracked her eyes open to see Kol's chiseled chin and looked down to see his arms around her, bridal style. She blamed it on how sleepy she was, because instead of struggling like she usually would, she simply lifted her arms to grip around his neck and she nestled her head against his warm chest, under his chin. She closed her eyes and tried to go back to sleep. She was almost asleep again when she heard a door open and a gust of warm air hit her. She felt goosebumps raise on her arms and she opened her eyes to look around the lit and people-filled room. She realized that they were in a hotel lobby as the people's chatter floated around the wide room. Kol didn't seem to notice that she'd woken up, for he continued on his way to the front desk. The woman looked about 21 years old, and she was blonde, tall and skinny. The woman's little badge read: <em>Bailey.<em>

"Can I have a room, please?" Kol's British accented voice rang out and Ebony looked at Bailey blearily, sleep clouding her vision. Bailey looked at Ebony for a split second before looking at Kol and smiling seductively at him.

"Would that be a two-bed room, Sir?" Her voice sounded Southern, which made Ebony finally wonder where exactly they were. She felt Kol shake his head. "Two _separate_ rooms, then?" she tried again, her smile faltering slightly. Ebony felt Kol's arm tighten slightly around her back and legs.

His voice dropped low as he spoke. "You are going to give me a key to a one bedroom suite, the best you've got," he told her demandingly.

Ebony's brows furrowed as the girl's smile fell and she nodded. She took out a key almost robotically and handed it to Kol, who took it with ease, even though he was holding onto Ebony as well. Ebony let her eyelids drop and simply listened to Kol's steady heartbeat. When she heard the key open the door and she felt Kol walk in and shut the door behind them she opened her eyes again. She lifted herself up to look at him and just as she made eye contact with him they reached the bed. Their faces were so close that she could feel his breath on her lips. She looked down from his eyes to his pink lips, but just as she moved slightly forward to kiss him, he dropped her.

Onto the bed.

She bounced a few times and then stared at his back as he turned towards some bags that Ebony didn't realize he was holding. How could he have held all that? She thought. She sat quietly, watching him. He pulled up his shirt and took it off, tossing it onto the floor. She felt her eye twitch slightly in annoyance. He looked behind him at her as he put his thumbs in the loops of his black skinny jeans. Ebony felt her face heat up as he continued to stare at her, yet he undid the belt and zipper. She felt her heartbeat increase and then turned away, face beet red. She heard shuffling and recognized it as Kol slipping his pants off. She continued to stare intently at the white wall.

"You can look now," he said. She turned around to see him clad in only a pair of grey sweats. She found her eyes drawn to his muscular chest and didn't catch the smirk on his face. He grabbed a bag and threw it at her. "That's yours," his British accented voice rang into her ears, making her tear away her eyes from his torso. She grabbed the bag and unzipped it. It was filled with some outfits and eventually she found some pajamas. She pulled out the green pajamas and looked at Kol, who had moved himself to lie on the bed comfortably. He looked at her blankly as she stared at him. _Why won't he leave so I can change?_ She thought. He sighed, realizing what she was waiting for. "You stood before me once in nothing but what you'd wear under those," he said, smirking. Ebony felt her face grow even warmer as she gripped the bag closer to her.

"What? You liar!" she yelled at him. He sat up on the bed, smirk still in place.

"I assure you, my dear, I am not one to lie." His smirk only grew as he stood from the bed, stopped a few feet away from her—he was still closer to the bed. She glared at him.

"I haven't seen you since the ball a few nights ago!" she said, backing a few steps as he stepped forward towards her. "So, you're lying." Kol smirked wider if possible and in a blur he was standing in front of her, ripping the bag out of her hands, leaving only the pajamas a barrier between them.

"Shall I aid you, _darling_?" he purred. _I can't believe he actually _purred_ at me!_ She thought. His hands went up to brush her stomach lightly and she felt her breath hitch. She stared up at him and when his hands slipped underneath her shirt and she could feel his cold hands tracing her flat torso, she struggled to find her voice. She let go of her pajamas to grip his wrists. She stared up into his brown eyes as he stared back into hers. His hands stopped moving and she looked away from his intense gaze.

"Stop," she whispered, looking back up at him. She held his gaze for a few seconds before looking away. She knew he was still watching her, and she tried to pull his hands away from her. His hands didn't budge. She looked up at him, voice low and nervous as she spoke again. "Kol. I'm serious." In another blur, her shirt was off of her and thrown across the room. She backed away from him as he watched her hungrily. "Kol!" she yelled. He stalked toward her slowly and Ebony turned around, hair swishing side to side as she ran for the door. Before she could reach it, Kol was in front of her and he gripped her arms. Ebony had a strange feeling of déjà vu as she stared into his changing eyes. Kol's eyes turned red, veins underneath his eyes popping out—but the one thing Ebony couldn't take her eyes off of were his teeth.

_Fangs_.

Ebony felt her heartbeat quicken to an almost painful rhythm and she breathed heavily as she stared at his demonic eyes. Kol opened his mouth partly, staring at her covered neck. He removed one hand from her arm to lightly brush her hair away. Suddenly Ebony was picked up and before she could register that she wasn't even on the ground anymore, she was pushed against the large hotel bed, Kol eyeing her from above.

Ebony whimpered. Kol looked at her neck and then gripped her wrists, pinning them above her head. She stared at him in fear. He smiled coldly and switched her wrists into one of his hands to trace her neck lightly with a finger from his free hand. She flinched, still breathing heavily. Kol's voice broke through her panic.

"You didn't used to be so afraid," he said softly. Ebony stared at him as if he were a lunatic—which he probably was in her case.

"You're crazy! I have only met you once!" she screamed at him, struggling against his hold. Kol leaned down toward her, pressing his nose against her neck, as if mock nuzzling her. Ebony looked up at the ceiling. Kol sniffed her for a bit and Ebony would have thought he might've actually fallen asleep were it not for the rough grip he had on her probably now bruising wrists. She winced at the pain in them and then Kol spoke again, making Ebony shiver as he spoke into her slender neck.

"This reminds me of the first time," he said. Kol removed himself from her neck in favor of staring down at her. Ebony blinked a few times at him.

"The _first time_ is this time, you beast! After I met you at the ball I just left and went home!" she once again yelled at him. She kicked at him but nothing fazed him. Kol bent down again and Ebony watched him—well, his hair, actually, considering that was the only thing she could feel—until she felt the tip of his fangs lightly nip at her neck. She could feel them break skin and suddenly something warm and wet was on her neck. Ebony had to bite her lip to hold in the horrifying noise that was about to come out of her as Kol licked the small amount of blood. She thought for only a moment that this wasn't what she thought he'd do, but then Kol was biting into her neck roughly and Ebony pushed her arms up in agony, trying to get away from the blinding pain in her neck. She could feel tears come out of her eyes against her will and slide down her face. She let out a cry of pain as she arched against Kol, her jeans roughly scratching against his sweats as her bare torso pressed against his. She tried to turn her head but he quickly grabbed her head to keep it to one side. She cried and screamed and tried to buck him off, unknowingly spurring on the vampire.

"Stop…" she croaked out, tears falling from her eyes like rivers flowing into the ocean. She screamed louder as Kol bit down harder. Suddenly her hands were free, but then a cold hand pressed against her mouth, muffling her cries into almost nothing. She cried and shut her eyes as she slipped her hands around him to punch his strong back. She gripped at his light brown hair, pulling it, trying to get him off of her. Throughout it all, though, she couldn't help but have a strange feeling of déjà vu. Suddenly Kol was off of her neck, staring at her as blood dripped down from his mouth and plopped onto her chest. She stared at him fearfully as he looked down at her with no emotion.

"How…" she whispered. Kol removed himself from her and he sat down on the edge of the other side, wiping his mouth, eyes never leaving hers.

"You liked me once," was all he said. Her eyes grew fearful, but she pushed back her fear as she looked at him before replying.

"I could never like a monster," she whispered to him, looking away. Kol opened his mouth to reply but was cut off by the sound of Ebony's phone go off, signaling a new text message. Ebony reached into her jeans pocket and took her phone out slowly, eyes on Kol's the whole time. Tearing her eyes away from Kol only to look at the screen of her iPhone—her parents were kind of on the rich side—and she sighed when she saw the name that read _Amy_. Kol's voice broke through her mind.

"Who is that?" he asked. Ebony looked up and faked a smile.

"No one," she replied. He stared at her hard as he got off the bed. He finally turned around, facing the door that led to a bathroom from their apparent four star hotel.

"I'm going to the bathroom," he said simply before disappearing into the bathroom and shutting the door behind him. Ebony sighed again and looked down at her phone screen. She unlocked her phone and went to her messages to read and reply to it.

_**I have to tell u something important. Text back soon xoxo.**_

Ebony stole a glance at the door and realized that if she told Amy anything, Kol would most likely kill her or Amy. She typed her reply quickly.

_**Yea, what is it?**_

Her phone buzzed quickly, indicating a reply from Amy.

_**R u home?**__  
><em>_**No. Just tell me, Amy.  
>Remember when Elijah took me for a "walk"?<br>Yea.  
>Well he tried to… is it "compel"? Well anyways, he tried to compel me to forget anything u told me. I took some of that vervain stuff u told me about and it didn't work. I remember everything he said.<strong>_

Ebony furrowed her eyebrows. How is that important? It shows that Elijah must be a vampire, she guessed, but _what the hell is compelling someone?_

_**What else? U obviously didn't tell me everything. Ik u and that is NOT the "important" thing u had to tell me.**_

Her reply came soon enough.

_**That means that KOL COMPELLED U TO FORGET EVERYTHING FROM 4 NIGHTS AGO!**_

Ebony put her phone down on the bed and stared at the bathroom door. Her brows furrowed and she swallowed heavily as she waited for Kol to come out. She locked her phone screen and put it back in her jeans pocket. The door opened a few moments after and Kol came out, staring at her blankly. When she continued to watch him in fear as he sat down on the other side of the bed, he opened his mouth.

"What is it?" he asked, bored.

Ebony snapped out of whatever it was she was in and tried to smile at him, though she realized he probably knew it was faux. "N-nothing," she replied, stuttering. She mentally cursed herself for stumbling on her words. Her smile disappeared and Kol looked at her as if he were calculating her. She watched as he lifted the covers, got under them and then laid them gently on him as he closed his eyes and relaxed. Ebony stared at him, then at the light switch—the light switch all the way on the other side of the room. She shifted on the bed.

"Aren't you going to turn off the lights?" she asked. He cracked an eye open and smirked as he watched her with his brown eye.

"That is what a woman is for."

Ebony felt her jaw open and she grabbed her pillow, mind set on choking him to death with it. She brought it down on him, but his hands were suddenly gripping her wrists and she was through down onto the bed under him. She had dropped the pillow and it now rested on her stomach, separating her torso from his. He stared down at her with that smirk he so often wore and she glared at him.

"Sexist bastard," she said, out of breath for some reason. He cocked his head to the side.

"No, you are just a woman who doesn't know her place." His smirk grew as she fought against him, trying to dunk his junk as she struggled. When he didn't budge, she gave up and blew some of her wavy hair out of her face. He chuckled and she settled at glaring at him. "I'm a vampire, remember? You are not going to be getting very far in that way, sweetheart." Ebony felt her heart give a rather loud thump as she _did_ remember that she was now less than a foot away from a _vampire_. A monster. How could she have forgotten? She decided to forget her fear for a moment, and ask the questions she had been dying to ask ever since she'd found out about him. And the text messages from Amy hadn't helped her satisfy her curiosity. She looked up at him vulnerably and took a deep breath.

"Can you…" she paused for a minute, looking into his eyes sincerely before continuing. "Can you explain to me?"

His eyes hardened slightly. "Explain what, love?" Ebony pulled at her hands and Kol let go of her wrists, placing his hands on either side of her face.

"Everything," she said, voice soft. "Explain everything."

Kol looked away slightly and sat on the bed, away from her. Ebony sat up, thankful for the space he'd given her. She sat crisscross and looked at his bare back. She waited patiently and eventually he turned around and mimicked her position and began to tell his tale.

"Where to start, where to start…" he trailed off, smirking at her. Ebony rolled her green eyes and he sighed. "You have absolutely no sense of humor." Ebony gave him a look. He ignored it as he continued. "Alright. You want my family history? I'll tell you now, it is not a story filled with flowers and chocolates—"

"Considering you're a vamp—" she tried to cut him off, but he continued as if he hadn't heard her.

"—and I'm not going to sugarcoat anything for you. It's a tale of darkness, blood and despair. Are you still so sure you want to know?" Ebony nodded enthusiastically. "Well alright, then, but don't say I didn't warn you."

Ebony listened intently as he began his family's tale, right from the beginning.

"A thousand years ago, in the 11th century," he began, and Ebony's eyes widened—_the gorgeous, 18 year old looking Kol Mikaelsen was actually 1000 years old? _"My family and I lived amongst werewolves." Ebony blinked a few times before thinking, _there are _werewolves_ too? _"In our village, one of my brothers died from the plague—when we were still human. I had a younger brother as well; his name was Henrick. Finn and I were out when he died, but we soon figured out the truth about what had happened to spur the events of turning us into vampires. Niklaus—Klaus, as you know him by—and Henrick had gone out on the night of the full moon to watch the men transform into wolves. After they'd turned into the beasts they are, as Niklaus and Henrick were returning to our home, one of the werewolves had bitten my youngest brother and killed him. Niklaus brought him back, but it was too late, I'm afraid." Ebony felt a small pang of sympathy toward Kol. He chose to ignore it and continue with his tale. "Our mother, Esther, was the Original Witch. Another witch, by the name of Iyana, told Esther that Henrick was dead and my parents wanted to find something to defend us from the wolves. We were… too _precious_ to die to them back then." Ebony noticed how Kol spoke bitterly about his parents, and he refrained from called Esther his mother. "Iyana refused to aid Esther in unbalancing nature and making us into vampires. Esther couldn't turn herself into one, because you can't be both—you have to be either one or another. She turned us and our father, Mikael, into vampires to protect us. At the feast that night, they offered us wine laced with blood. After we drank, Mikael drove his sword through our hearts and killed us all." Kol watched her with cold, faraway eyes, and Ebony realized it must be hard for him to relive everything he was telling her. She wanted him to stop, not relive the memories he was telling, but it looked like even if she did, he wouldn't be able to once he'd started.

"Once we woke up after dying, I remember all the feelings I had felt. Pain; betrayal; confusion. A few minutes after, Mikael came into the room holding myself, Finn and Elijah inside and was carrying a young girl who was from the werewolf bloodline. He looked at us all and only said, 'You must drink if you wish to live.' At the time, I was the youngest of them all—I was actually eighteen years of age. I was afraid; I didn't want to die. Mikael cut the girl's arm with a dagger and offered her arm toward us. The blood—for the first time in my life, the blood looked like a miracle to me. It made me thirst for it. I wanted to drink it all. I also didn't want to. I didn't understand, but it must have been the part of me that was still human that held me back. Elijah simply drank enough to soothe the hunger slightly—he has always been the most moral of us all. I drank next, but by the time I was pushed off, she was already unconscious from loss of blood. Finn had to be forced by Mikael to drink, but Finn has always hated being a vampire. He believes it was a sin to turn us and has spent his years living in shame." Ebony remembered the ritual she'd witnessed, but stayed quiet, for he didn't know she had been there. She let him continue. "After we'd become immortal creatures, we were deemed the abomination of nature. So nature fought back.

"Sun burned us, but we took care of that problem. Esther found a lapis lazuli rock and spelled it to keep us able to walk in daylight." He held up his middle finger, showing her the bright blue rock on his ring. "Friends that had welcomed us into their homes could now keep us out. We couldn't enter a place where a human lived if we hadn't been invited in. If we were inside already, for whatever reason, we would suffocate.

"A plant named Vervain could be used against us; it also burned us when we touched it. That has no cure, unfortunately, but it is a hard plant to come by in this day and age. And, the last thing—the tree that gave us life could also take it away from us."

"Wait—so you can still be killed by a stake?"

"Fortunately for me, no. Not any stake of mere wood can kill us Original vampires. It has to be wood from a White Oak tree—a tree that my family made sure burned to the ground. Now, we cannot be killed at all." Ebony nodded slowly, waiting for him to continue. "The one thing that not a single one of us expected was the forever lingering thirst. Nothing could sedate the hunger we craved except for human blood. It was the blood that had completed the transition, and it would be blood that would keep us alive. Every one of us went a little off the wagon and killed human villagers to soothe our cravings. That's when it was revealed that Niklaus was not Mikael's son. Years back, Esther had been unfaithful and had borne a son from the werewolf bloodline. To trigger the werewolf curse, you have to take human life, and when Niklaus killed a young woman, he triggered the curse of the moon."

Ebony interrupted him. "Wait, so what's Klaus then? A vampire or a werewolf?"

Kol smiled coldly. "He's both." Ebony's eyes widened, but before she could ask anything, he continued. "Now, Niklaus—he is _truly_ immortal. The witches, you see, cannot let anything truly immortal live on Earth, and so made the daggers of White Ash to neutralize us Originals. But since silver does not harm werewolves, Niklaus cannot be neutralized by it, and so he cannot be killed.

"After realizing that Niklaus was not his son, Mikael killed his father and the rest of his family in his rage. Esther could not allow a hybrid to walk, and so she placed a curse on Niklaus to keep his werewolf side dormant. In his anger, Niklaus killed her." Ebony winced. He killed his own mother? "After all of this, I fled. I couldn't stand to be with the family that I had thought to be my loved ones. There was too much rage, repulse, anguish—I had to leave. Finn left as well, but not with me.

"Now, you see, every curse can be broken. I'd found out a bit late, by Elijah, when I met with him in England. He'd said that the witches had told them that there was a Petrova doppelgänger. The doppelgänger must be sacrificed on the full moon, along with a vampire and a werewolf to allow Niklaus to be a true hybrid. I had watched from the shadows as Niklaus's attempt with Katerina Petrova failed and he'd gone into another rage.

"After that, I left again. You see, I'm not one to stay to watch the aftermath of anything, unless it is my own doing. After fleeing once again, I went to every town I could. There was a ball at one point during my travels, maybe in the late 1600s and I couldn't resist attending once seeing the beautiful maidens that were walking in and out." Ebony couldn't help the disgust she felt at him when he said that, but as he spoke next, his eyes glazed over, as if he were looking at her and seeing someone else. "I went and tried to lure a young woman with blazing red hair out into the night. She would have fallen for my charm, but as I was about to use my compulsion on her, I heard the most beautiful voice I'd ever heard drift into my ears. Everyone stopped and looked over near the band. There was a young woman with the greenest eyes I'd ever seen and long, golden curls. I was hypnotized by her looks at first, for she appeared to me as the most beautiful woman I had ever laid eyes on, with her pretty white neck exposed to me. Why, of course, every other man in the ball was entranced by her beauty, but her voice was also the voice of angels laughing. As she finished singing, she curtsied and danced around with a few men who had asked for the pleasure to dance with her. I went up to her and asked her to come outside with me for a moment. Now, any other woman, without compulsion would have been suspicious and refused, but as she accepted, I realized she was also the most innocent lady I had ever met as well. I took her outside for her to be my meal, but as we went outside, I couldn't kill her. She was, simply put, the happiest person I'd ever had the pleasure of meeting. Soon, before she knew of my vampirism, we grew closer and closer, simply because every time I met with her I couldn't bring myself to kill her, and slowly, the urge to do so completely vanished. I would see her just to have the pleasure of her company. It was the first time I'd ever enjoyed the company of a human. Eventually, she invited me into her home and I'd spend the nights sitting on a chair as she lay in bed, talking with her until she fell asleep.

"Something you should be aware of is that before Niklaus met Katerina, he'd also fallen in love with a woman, and for revenge against him, I'd killed her before his eyes in the most gruesome and painful ways I could think of. Now, my brother Niklaus and I are alike in some ways. We both crave for revenge and make sure that when we do take our revenge, it would feel as if we ripped your heart from your chest." Ebony could feel her eyelids grow heavy, but she forced herself to stay awake, wanting to hear the whole story. Kol's eyes were still glassy, as if he thought he was with this girl he'd been with instead of sitting of the bed of a hotel with Ebony.

"One night, while Natalia and I were strolling through the streets, news came to us that her parents had been attacked by animals." Ebony faintly registered that the girl's name was Natalia. "We rushed to her house and Natalia spent hours clinging to her mother's dress, weeping in despair. I stood by, not caring about her parents, but more of how she would react. Late into the night, I led her to her bedroom and waited outside as she got dressed for bed. She came out soon and said it was alright for me to return inside. I talked with her, but as I was leaving, I heard her whimper and she whispered for me to stay with her. I knew I shouldn't, but at that moment, I felt a swelling of love in my chest, and I came to the thought that I would gladly die for Natalia. I got into the bed with her, hugged her to me, and lulled her to sleep—and I spent that night sleeping with her in my arms.

"The next morning, I left before she'd awoken because I didn't want her reputation to be damaged because of me. Soon enough, once I was sure she was awake, I went back to the mansion and sat with her. I don't know what caused it to this day, but she snapped at me, and we got into an argument. I left the house, storming in rage as she cried angry tears behind me, yelling that she despised me, that she never wanted to see me again.

"Later that night, I went back to apologize, but I found the house covered in blood. It was splattering the walls, the floors, almost every surface—"

Ebony's phone buzzed loudly in her pocket. She looked at her pocket and saw Kol's eyes focus on her. She didn't want him to stop.

"Well?" he said, turning to lay on the bed. "Answer that incessant buzzing."

Ebony took it out and felt her face heat up at the name.

_**Matt:  
>Hey, Eb, u ok? U seemed freaked when I took u home.<strong>_

Ebony smiled slightly—it wasn't her fault she had a huge crush on Matt!

"Who is it?"

"Matt," she breathed. And then her eyes widened and she covered her mouth, looking up at the now raging Kol.

"That stupid human boy, Matt?" he almost yelled. Ebony looked at him in fear—but idly wondered how he knew Matt.

"He's not stupid," she grumbled. "But, anyway, tell me what else happened! I want to know," she tried. He looked at her calculatingly.

"Don't tell me you like this boy?" he said, his voice dangerously low and quiet. Ebony didn't answer. "Are you two together?"

"No," she answered his second question. "But I know that I would definitely rather be with him than you!" she heard herself yell, and then shut her mouth, afraid of what Kol would do to her.

He only smirked. "Is that a challenge?"

Ebony said nothing, just put her phone away and got under the covers, turning her back to face him, blood rushing to her face. She saw the lights go out and knew Kol had turned them out. Suddenly there was warm air on the back of her neck, making her shiver slightly, as Kol whispered only two words to her before going to sleep as well.

"Challenge accepted."


	7. Chapter 7: Shopping For Surprises

**Note:**** I found some pictures of people/outfits and I have them on my profile now, so you guys can go and check them out. :3 Also, there's a poll about who the hottest TVD male is on my profile, so you guys should totally vote on it :D Also the names of the towns and stuff are all made up, I apologize if there are any similarities.**

_**Chapter Seven**_

Ebony woke up to the shaking of a car. She opened her eyes and looked around—she was in the car she'd been in yesterday night. She looked at Kol, who was driving and trying to work the radio station at the same time. She set her hand gently on his with an amused smile on her face and he jumped in surprise.

"I didn't know you were awake," he said, removing his hand from the radio.

"I just woke up to the hilarious sight of you trying to work a radio," she replied, holding back a laugh. He smiled un-amusedly and turned on the radio, but it was playing commercials about McDonalds. She sighed, sitting back and relaxing in her seat—she couldn't really do anything with a car going 60mph, so she might as well enjoy it. Then, a thought came to her mind. "Wait, we were in a hotel, how did we get in the car?"

He glanced at her quickly before looking back at the road. "How do you think? I tried to wake you, but you nearly punched me in the nose a few times, almost got me in the eye as well, and after coming to the conclusion that I'd still rather not get hit, I just carried you out, sweetheart."

"Don't call me 'sweetheart'," was all she told him. She saw a smirk grace his features.

"Why not, sweetheart?"

"It sounds weird."

"Well, you are _weird_."

"Your accent is weird!"

"My accent is perfectly fine, mind you!"

"Who calls food _nosh_?"

"It's a perfectly fine name!"

"And _mummy_, seriously? _Mummy_?"

"Hey! At least mine sounds more sophisticated than yours! How do you say it? M-ahhh-mee?"

And that was when Ebony burst out laughing, holding onto the seat for support. Kol glanced at her.

"What? What is so funny?"

Ebony couldn't answer—she was too busy replaying the way Kol tried to say "Mommy" with an American accent. It was surely a sound worth listening to. When she calmed down, she looked up at Kol, who was shaking his head in amusement at her. She wiped a few tears from her eyes and rested her back against the seat again.

"Sorry," she said, still giggling. "It's just—don't ever try to fake an American accent again. _Ever_."

After a few moments of arguing, giggles and chuckles, they were engulfed in silence, a country song that Ebony didn't know filling up the awkwardness. When Kol tried to say something about how nice the day was, Ebony cut him off.

"Can we…_ not_ do the whole 'road trip bonding' thing?"

Kol looked at her, confused. "What? 'Road trip bonding'—what is that?"

Ebony almost nearly face-palmed at him. "You know, getting to know each other while we're on the road. Let's skip that part of this little car ride and go straight to my new question—where the heck are you taking me?"

Kol only smirked. "You'll see. I don't know a lot of places, but I have one place in mind that I think you'd like—not a big population, lots of plains—not a city, more like a town." Ebony looked out the window, yet she didn't recognize anything about where they were. Her phone buzzed as they turned onto an exit from the highway. She took it out of her pocket and opened her iPhone to read and reply to Amy's text.

_**Hey, where r u? I came by ur house and ur not there. Answer ASAP xoxo.**_

Ebony smiled and looked at Kol, who she knew was watching her from the corner of his eye.

"Uh," she started nervously. "It's a text from Amy. Can I tell her where we are?"

"Don't say you're with me," he replied easily, steering them into a town she didn't know. "And don't get any ideas of secretly letting her know and then deleting the message, because if I find out you let your pretty little friend know who you are with, I'll rip out her throat." He smiled at her as if he wasn't threatening the life of her best friend. She sighed before going back to the screen.

"Got it," she mumbled as she composed her reply before sending it.

_**Oh, nowhere, I just went to go meet my parents, u know? I took a cab and now I'm on a bus between a snoring old man and a lady with an annoying baby who won't shut up, fml. Ttyl, k?**_

Amy's reply came shortly after.

_**Wow that sucks. K, text me when u can, IMU already! Lots of love.**_

Ebony smiled before putting her phone back in her pocket. She realized she was wearing a loose tee shirt that definitely belonged to her, and the same pair of jeans as yesterday. She looked outside the window to see stores passing her by. She looked at Kol, who was parking into a space that led to a large store that had _JCPenny's, Carson's_ and _Sears_ written on different connecting buildings and realized Kol had parked in the parking lot of a mall. She got out of the car quickly, but Kol was by her in an instant, gripping her arm roughly as he stared at her.

"Don't try to escape."

"I'm not an idiot," she snorted, giving him a look before pulling her arm out of his grasp. "I know you'd hunt me down, kill my best friend and then kill me." He simply smiled before following her.

"Good."

They walked inside and as they walked around aimlessly for a few minutes, Ebony stopped and turned to face Kol.

"Why exactly did you bring me here?"

Kol looked around curiously at the people walking by and at all the lights and stores—Ebony realized he probably hasn't seen this before by the way he was taking everything in. "Well," he started, "I said I accepted your challenge, and what better way of wooing you then to take you to a party—or a – a _club_? Is that what you call it now?"

Ebony raised an eyebrow. "You're taking me to a club? You know a club has drinking and lots of flashy lights—I'd rather be at a party."

"Well then I'll take you to a party!"

"Kol," she said. "I can't go to a party looking like this. All I have in that bag is pairs of jeans and some shirts, plus my pajamas."

He smirked down at her. "And that, sweetheart, is the reason we are here." Ebony ignored that he called her sweetheart even though she'd asked him not to and settled for focusing on the second part of his sentence.

"Wait—you want me to buy an outfit?"

"Yes, I do. Except, by the means of the party that I read, you have to at least be wearing a dress." Before Ebony could open her mouth to say anything, he grabbed her hand in his and started to walk, speaking once again. "Rest assured, sweetheart, I'll help you pick one out." Ebony felt her face grow hot in slight embarrassment. She'd never been one for PDA.

"Don't call me sweetheart!"

* * *

><p>Ebony stood awkwardly behind Kol as he talked to the saleslady in a dress shop—she didn't shop very much and at the speed he was walking she didn't have time to look at the name—explaining to her what kind of dresses to look for. When he nodded and moved to the side to reveal her, the saleslady immediately ran up to her and smiled.<p>

"Oh, my goodness," she breathed, touching her face. "Your complexion, your hair, your figure… you're beautiful!" Ebony felt herself blush slightly. She never thought of herself as beautiful. She took Ebony's hand and led her and Kol to the dressing rooms part of the store. She had Kol sit down in a chair—or couch; it looked really comfortable—and told Ebony to wait for her while she scurried off to find dresses. Ebony looked at a bored looking Kol.

"What did you tell her?" she asked him. Kol looked up at her and shrugged.

"That we were a young couple in love who were invited to a formal get-together and were in need of some dresses." He smirked at her facial expression, which she guessed was a cross between embarrassed and angry.

"Well, we're _not_ a—" she began but was cut off by the saleslady rushing to her and pushing a collage of colorful dresses into her arms and all but pushing her into a dressing room. She heard Kol's quiet chuckling from outside the door and she rolled her eyes. She took out the first dress, a light pink with black flower lace covering the left chest area, connecting the one shoulder design with its flowers, the rest of the lace covering slightly the right side to the left tip of the bottom ruffles, where it ended on her middle thigh. A black sash tightened around the middle, creating a cute puffed out shape from under it, the top half hugging her breasts nicely. She slipped it on and left her wavy hair down, over her shoulders and walked out of the dressing room. She stood awkwardly in front of the door as the woman and Kol spoke. The woman turned around when Kol did and they stared at her for a moment. The woman spoke first.

"Oh my!" she said, smiling brightly. "You look beautiful! Doesn't she, Sir?" Ebony turned with the saleslady to look at Kol, who was simply staring at her. After the woman asked him if he was alright, Kol seemed to snap out of whatever trance he was in and he nodded, smiling up at the woman.

"Yes, she looks…" Kol's brown eyes met hers and Ebony felt herself blush as he looked her up and down before meeting her eyes again. "Stunning."

The woman rushed her back inside to put on another dress and Ebony picked out another one. She slipped off the pink dress and slipped on the second. It was a beige, strapless dress. It had a sweetheart neckline and a small, silver glittered clip was placed between the chest area. Under the chest, the dress spread out loosely in four layers, ending a bit over the middle thigh. It was a rather simple dress and Ebony actually really liked it. She walked out, leaving her hair to cover only one side.

"That one looks gorgeous on you as well," the woman said. Kol simply nodded, not really looking at her. Ebony walked back inside and took it off. She took out another and put it on, already bored of trying on dresses. It was another strapless dress with a large ribbon across the middle. The ribbon held a large purple and blue designed flower. The dress itself was a light turquoise with light purple streaks in its ruffles. She walked out and was told once again to try on a few more dresses. She tried on a yellow one, a green one, a red one, a white one and a black one. She was told to pick out her favorite and she picked out the white one. Kol told her to go to the car and she reached it before him. She waited patiently inside until Kol opened the driver's door and sat inside.

"So… why did I have to come first?" she asked. Kol looked at her for a minute before starting the car and driving.

"We're almost to our destination," was all he said, ignoring her question. She eyed him warily before looking outside at the bright sunshine. It was a nice day, she thought. Ebony looked back at him.

"So where _is_ this destination, Mr. Mikaelsen?" she asked. He looked at her for a few seconds before turning back to the road.

"Might as well tell you. We are heading to the town of Mayfare," he said, smiling slightly. Ebony furrowed her eyebrows.

"Mayfare? Where's that?"

"Why, it's where we're heading, my dear."

Ebony rolled her eyes at him, but besides that she stayed quiet. She watched the beautiful scenery pass by until the car slowed down near a forest. Kol parked and then motioned for her to come out of the car. She walked out warily, eyeing the forest. He took out her bag that had the short white dress she'd picked and he pointed her to a little store with a bathroom. He told her he'd wait for her by the car and she headed toward the store. Ebony walked in, smiling at the old woman standing by the counter. She walked over to her, welcoming her. The little badge on her shirt read _Cassidy_. She smiled at the elder lady with brown eyes and greying hair.

"How can I help you, dearie?" she asked. Ebony motioned to the bag.

"Oh, I just wanted to use your bathroom to change into this dress," Ebony replied. The old lady looked through the glass mirrors and then looked back at Ebony with a glint in her small eyes.

"Is it for that handsome young lad out there by the car?" she asked. Ebony looked outside and saw Kol leaning against the car with his hands inside his pants pockets, watching people walk by. Ebony blushed, and was about to retort but the blushing was enough for the old lady. "Go on in, dearie and change." She showed her where the bathroom was and Ebony went inside the actually clean white bathroom. She took off her shirt and jeans and put them inside the bag as she took out the white dress. She set down the bag and put her phone safely inside, not hearing the vibration right after she'd put it between her clothes. She slipped on the dress and looked at herself in the clear mirror. The dress was a strapless sweetheart neckline and had a white sash going around it. She softly touched the ruffled flower designs of the dress from under the ribbon and marveled at how soft the texture was. She grabbed her bag and walked out, the dress's ends tickling her right above her knees. Cassidy saw her and smiled.

"You look beautiful," she said. Ebony smiled and thanked her. Before leaving, though, Cassidy stopped her and slipped a glittering white clip into the side of her hair, pinning some of it loosely up so that it pooled slightly near her eye before pulling up. Ebony touched it and looked at the old woman.

"I don't have any—"

"It's on the house, dearie," Cassidy told her. When Ebony tried to refuse, Cassidy stopped her by saying, "I know what it's like to be in love, sweetie. I think I just might know what that young man is planning to do." Ebony stopped talking, thanked her again and then made her way over to Kol. Kol took the bag from her and put it in the backseat of the car. He looked at her once and Ebony felt herself blush, her fingers playing with the hem of the white dress. Kol reached into the backseat more and took out an iPod with its speakers and Ebony idly thought, _How did I not notice that?_ Kol took her hand and started to lead her through the forest, only telling her one thing.

"It's a surprise."

Ebony followed him, glad that the trees weren't all pushed together so she didn't have to worry about getting the dress dirty or getting any cuts. She thought for a moment, her heart lurching forward in fear, that maybe Kol was bringing her here to kill her. Or do something else to her. She stared at him and then they finally stopped. Kol looked at her from behind him and then moved over to reveal a beautiful clearing just a few steps away from her. He let go of her hand and Ebony walked into the wide clearing, taking in how the sun reflected off of the luscious green grass and leaves on the trees surrounding the wide space. All around the edges grew flowers of lilac and blue color. She smiled as she took in the sight. Kol followed her in and then put the iPod on the speakers, setting it on the ground. He looked at her hopelessly, and she couldn't hold back her laugh as she went to turn it on and raised the volume on its highest. After turning it on, before the music even began to play, Kol grabbed her waist and ran them to stand in the middle of the meadow. He looked down at her and as the soft piano music began playing, Ebony knew what this was for. She didn't smile up at him, but she set her hands softly on his shoulders as he continued to softly hold her from her waist.

_Heart beats fast  
>Colors and promises<br>How to be brave  
>How can I love when I'm afraid to fall?<br>But watching you stand alone,  
>All of my doubt,<br>Suddenly goes away somehow  
>One step closer…<em>

Ebony felt Kol pull her closer and she rested her head hesitantly on his chest as he swayed them to the music. She smiled against him as she listened to "A Thousand Years" by Christina Perri. She closed her eyes lightly as they danced.

_I have died everyday waiting for you  
>Darling don't be afraid<br>I have loved you for a thousand years;  
>I'll love you for a thousand more…<em>

Ebony opened her green eyes and lifted her head off of Kol's shoulder. She looked up at him and met his eyes. He didn't smile at her, but Ebony smiled at him softly. They continued to watch each other in confusion—confusion over their feelings.

_Time stands still  
>Beauty in all she is<br>I will be brave  
>I will not let anything take away<br>What's standing in front of me  
>Every breath<br>Every hour has come to this  
>One step closer…<em>

Ebony didn't know what she was feeling right now. She knew that she felt fear at him—that was always there. He could do anything to her and she wouldn't have a chance. She couldn't kill him, he was an Original. She had absolutely no chance against him to defend herself. But she also felt something in the deepest part of her that she couldn't recognize. It screamed out at her, telling her she'd felt this toward him before, but she'd just met him. How could she?

Ebony remembered the text that Amy had sent her. If "compelling" was influencing someone's mind to make them do whatever they wanted the person to do, then something had happened between them before and Kol had made her forget. She could feel her heartbeat slowly becoming faster and faster and she looked away from Kol's eyes and focused on his shoulder.

_I have died everyday waiting for you  
>Darling don't be afraid<br>I have loved you for a thousand years;  
>I'll love you for a thousand more…<br>And all along  
>I believed I would find you<br>Time has brought your heart to me,  
>I have loved you for a thousand years<br>I'll love you for a thousand more…_

The instrumental part of the song played loudly and Ebony found herself staring at Kol again. She looked into his guarded eyes, trying to see something that he was feeling, but she found nothing but cold and hard feelings. She continued to watch him as they danced slowly to the soft music.

_One step closer…  
>One step closer…<em>

The acoustic guitar part started to sound through as the two watched each other.

_I have died everyday waiting for you  
>Darling don't be afraid<br>I have loved you for a thousand years  
>I'll love you for a thousand more…<em>

The rest of the soft instruments started playing along once again as the song continued into its last verse and Ebony found that her eyes were being drawn to Kol's parted lips, as his hers.

_And all along  
>I believed I would find you<br>Time has brought your heart to me  
>I have loved you for a thousand years<br>I'll love you for a thousand more…_

The gap between them closed, and their lips met in a soft, chaste kiss.


	8. Chapter 8: Revenge

**Note:**** I haven't had the chance to say this, and I feel like such a horrible person! Thank you so-so-so-so-so **_**so**_** much for the reviews/favorites/alerts/favorite author/author alerts! I really do appreciate it! It makes me so happy to see that so many of you enjoy my writing, and some of you point out a few things that might help give the story more life. :D I remember waking up once in a bad mood (ugh, **_MONDAYS_**) and going to text my friend and seeing that I had 15 emails from FF (.) net here all about this **one** story! I was like ":O OMG! HAPPINESS****!" hahaha. :3 again, thanks so much I less than three you guys!**

**URGENT WARNING:**** This is the **last chapter** of this story. I know, I'm so horrible, leaving it on a cliffy (you'll realize at the end). But, you guys will be happy to know that there will be a **sequel**! Just, idk, maybe a bit later? I don't know when I'll end up posting the sequel, but it'll happen, don't worry. Maybe once the TVD hiatus is over and we get to see 3x16 I'll put it up. :D**

**As always, enjoy!**

_**Chapter Eight**_

Ebony closed her eyes at the same time Kol closed his. The kiss was soft and gentle, yet chaste. Ebony wrapped her arms around Kol's neck, bringing him closer. At the moment, looking back on it, she realized that she still felt repulsed by Kol, but because of how sweet and charming he'd been, she felt a pull and kissed him. Kol's left hand pushed on the small of her back, pulling her flush against his body as his right wove through her hair to keep her in place. Ebony felt Kol's tongue lightly trace her bottom lip and she gasped slightly at the new sensation. Kol's tongue immediately sought entrance, and she complied. As Kol's lips pushed against hers harder, rougher, Kol's phone began to buzz loudly in his pocket. Ebony pulled away, panting.

"Answer it," she said breathlessly when Kol made to capture her lips again. He pulled his phone out, yanked it open and brought it to his ear, growling.

"What?"

Kol's face went from anger to shock and she could detect a bit of fear also. Ebony watched as he stayed silent and then he shut his phone, looking at her.

"What's wrong?" she asked. Instead of answering, Kol grabbed her wrist, yanked her onto his back and started running. Ebony stifled a scream by biting her pink lip and she tightened the hold she had on Kol's neck as he ran, vampire speed, back to the car. He yanked the door open and pushed her inside, and Ebony felt a twinge of annoyance at how he was manhandling her. Kol soon yanked his door open, got in, slammed it shut and then started speeding off. Ebony could hear her own heartbeat quicken when she looked outside into the setting sky—the car was going so fast _every_thing was blurred. She could barely see a tree passing at all. She glanced at Kol and gripped the seat, tight. Ebony's breath came in short spurts and she hung on for dear life as she glanced at the monitor to see that they were almost at 100mph. Suddenly she saw something in front of the car—an animal?—and Kol cursed, swerving the car. As the car spun and tilted slightly to the side, Ebony let out a small scream.

"Kol, slow down!"

Silence.

"Kol, _stop the car_!"

The only sound that came was the roaring engine of the speeding car.

"Kol, please!"

Her protest fell on deaf ears.

Ebony's eyes shut and tears welled up, yet she refused to let them fall. She held on, still breathing quickly, her breaths matching the pace of her heart. She tried to calm herself down, but with the sharp twists and turns that the car was making, she could only whimper or stifle a yelp.

Soon, the car came to an absolute stop, but they were somewhere very isolated—Ebony looked outside of the window and noticed that not many cars were there. She only noticed a few stores—but they looked more like clubs, and they seemed very shady.

Kol looked at her and abruptly said, "Stay here." Ebony only watched as he got out of the car, and in a blur he was gone. Her phone almost instantly started to buss from the bag in the backseat. She looked behind her, pushed her wavy hair out of her face, and reached for the bag with her clothes. She dug through the clothes until she felt her vibrating phone. She pulled it out and looked at the name—Amy.

She quickly answered it. "Hello—Amy?"

The voice that answered was _definitely_ not Amy's.

"If you want your pretty little friend here to live, I suggest you step out of the car."

Ebony felt her heart stop. The voice was masculine and she didn't recognize it, though there was something familiar about it. There was an obvious British accent, but Ebony couldn't be sure that they really had Amy. Sure, they had her phone, but they could've just stolen it.

"How do I know you have her?" Ebony heard herself ask. The voice on the other line chuckled.

"Don't believe me?" Then the voice was talking to someone else, not her. "Say hi to your little friend, love."

"Ebony!" Amy's voice rang out. "Don't—don't come out of the—" Amy's protest was cut off by her own scream of agony and pain. Ebony started, looking around the car. She couldn't see anyone. The male voice chuckled.

"Believe me now, sweetheart?" Ebony felt the gears in her mind working on overload trying to find out who it was that had her best friend, her sister. She felt her hands clench into fists and she could feel the tears overflow in her eyes, blurring her vision.

She whispered, tears thickening her voice, "Please, don't hurt her!"

"Then step out of the car."

Ebony could hear Amy's pained protests—she was forcing them out. She heard Amy crying and knew she herself was crying as well. She took a deep breath before unlocking the car door and slowly opening it. She lifted herself from the car and shut the door behind her. She heard the voice on the phone hum, pleased. She looked around and gathered her courage, though her tears were still falling.

"Where are you?" she asked, anger in her tone.

"Go to the club."

She heard a few beeps on her phone, signaling that he'd hung up. Ebony looked around and lowered the phone from her ear. She walked away from the car for a few steps, looking at the club. She looked around for Kol, not seeing him. She began to run toward the club. She walked in, looking around for Amy. Ebony looked to her right and her heart nearly stopped.

Kol.

His back was to her, but she could recognize him a mile away. Ebony felt her heartbeat quicken, but she turned and quickly jogged to the other side of the club-casino. She looked around at the dimly lit area, looking for Amy as her white dress swished across her thighs. Soon enough, she caught striking blue eyes and long, curled brown hair fell into a face of panic and fear. She smiled at her best friend and was about to make her way over to her, when Amy mouthed, "It's a trap! Run!"

Ebony stopped, furrowing her brows. The minute she stopped though, a hand tapped at her shoulder. Ebony whipped around, eyes meeting pale blue orbs. She looked at the man standing in front of her, his slightly curly, short blonde hair and the smirk placed firmly on his full, pink lips.

"Klaus…" she whispered, eyes wide. He cocked his head to the side, eyes glinting menacingly.

"Hello, love," he said, before grabbed her head and knocking it against the wall they were standing next to. Ebony felt the painful impact before her body fell to the ground, limp, the last thing she saw being Klaus's hungry, evil blue eyes and menacing smirk.

* * *

><p>Klaus looked around at the people around them. Most of them were either vampires or drunken humans, so no one gave a damn that he'd just knocked out a young girl. Klaus met Amy's eyes and gave her a look. Amy ignored him, running to the aid of her best friend. Once she reached them, she fell to her jean clad knees before grabbing Ebony's slightly bleeding head. She lifted her friend's head off of the roughly carpeted floor and replaced it with her lap. She stroked her friend's face, dabbing at the wound. She looked up at the emotionless Klaus.<p>

"Why did you do that?" she asked him through clenched teeth, though tears were running down her face. Klaus looked away, toward his brother. Kol hadn't noticed them; he was too busy looking for their _mother_, Esther. He'd called him earlier, telling him Esther was after Ebony. This time, it was Klaus's turn to take his revenge. He quickly told Amy to get up, yet she refused. Klaus, irritated, roughly grabbed Amy's arm and lifted her up. She looked at him fearfully as Ebony's head fell back, hitting the floor with a thud. Klaus looked into Amy's terror-filled blue eyes before pushing her away. He bent down and pulled Ebony over his shoulder, still unconscious. He turned and made his way out of the club/bar place he'd walked in to, knowing that Amy would follow, because of her friend.

He reached his silver car, and yanked the door open, dropping Ebony carelessly in the backseat. Amy was running after him, but he couldn't have her coming along. He waited until she reached him. Once she was standing in front of him, Klaus grabbed her forearms roughly, stared into her blue eyes, and brought a hand up to brush away her curly brown hair from her pale face.

"You," he told her, pupils dilating as he stared into her eyes. He'd made sure that stupid Vervain was out of her system yesterday. "are going to stay here, and when Kol finds you, you will tell him that Klaus has a message for him: 'Revenge is sweet, dear brother.'"

And then, in a flash and a roar of the engine, Klaus and Ebony were gone.

* * *

><p>Kol was back at his car. He looked through the window, though he knew it was a waste. He couldn't hear Ebony's heartbeat inside the car, he knew she wasn't there. Kol slammed his fist against the car hood, though not hard enough to break through it. He focused on his surroundings, trying to find any trace of her. He heard a faint crying, and he quickly flashed over to the back of one of the dark buildings, expecting Ebony. He found Amy instead, her blue eyes looking up at him in fear. He gripped her arm tightly, lifting her up to his face. He looked at her with every intention of killing her if she lied to him.<p>

"Where is Ebony?" he growled. She hiccupped a few times before answering, and her answer made him feel like an idiot for trusting his brother.

She recited the answer as if she was reciting lines from a play. "Klaus has a message for you." Kol gripped her harder as her face turned blank, staring at him emotionless. "'Revenge is sweet, dear brother,'" she said. Kol let go of her and she stumbled back, blinking away her tears. She looked at Kol and he kicked the brick wall, making a large hole. Amy watched him in silence.

"Damn it," he growled, voice low. He took out his phone, dialing Klaus's number in quickly. After a few painstaking rings, with the sound of Amy's muffled cries behind him, Klaus's smug voice answered.

"Kol—"

"_Where is she?_" he growled, trying to contain his anger before it boiled over and he ended up doing something stupid. He heard Klaus's chuckle from the other side of the phone.

"Why, she's right here, brother," he said. Kol took a few breaths, listening intently, trying to hear anything that indicated she was alright. When he heard nothing, he growled again into the phone.

"What have you done with her?" he nearly yelled into the little phone. Klaus's laugh and voice were hard.

"She's right here in the car with me, dear brother. She's not herself at the moment, but if you would like to see your precious _Ebony_ again, come meet me at Sirdi, in the mansion. You remember where it is, of course, don't you? It'd be quite the shame if this young girl's death couldn't be seen by the vampire who put her in this situation in the first place." Kol hung up to the sound of his older brother's cruel chuckle and he threw the phone across the parking lot hearing the loud crack indicating it broke. He looked back at Amy, who was staring at him with her makeup running down her face. She hastily wiped her eyes as she followed Kol's now speeding form.

"Wait!" she called after him, making him stop and turn to watch her. He looked at her, watching how she took in a shaky breath before speaking. "Take me with you," she said, voice unwavering. Kol smiled humorlessly.

"No," he said simply.

Amy looked taken aback. "You have to!"

"No I don't."

"Well, _please_," she said through her clenched white teeth as she stared at him seriously. "take me with you."

Kol looked at her blankly as he stopped next to his car door. He watched her intently for a few seconds, making Amy fidget, before he spoke. "Why should I bring you with me?" he asked simply. Amy lifted her head up high and squared her shoulders before answering him.

"Because she's my best friend."

Kol lifted a brow before he gestured at the car. She smiled and ran to the passenger seat, quickly getting in before he even opened his door. He realized that even if he'd said no still, Ebony's best friend would fight tooth and nail to get into his car and make him take her with him. Kol shook his head before getting in and turning the car on, quickly beginning to drive. He looked at her as he drove and she watched the trees outside in determination.

Kol felt a pang at his chest and later, when he looked back at that moment, he would realize it was jealousy. Jealousy that Ebony had a friendship this strong, where someone would do anything to make sure she was safe.

He had never felt that before.

* * *

><p>Klaus drove silently as he turned into the exit that led him to the large town of Sirdi. He glanced into the rearview mirror, taking in the sight of the dark haired beauty in the back. He hair was in her face slightly, her pure white dress tainted with crimson blood from her head wound. Her eyes were closed, black eyelashes brushing against her pale cheekbones. He looked back at the dark town before him, quickly driving up to the mansion aforementioned. He parked his car in front of the large mansion, getting out of the car to pick up the girl. He opened the back door and pulled her out, carrying her bridal style up to the mansion's front doors. He knocked a few times, waiting. He heard shuffling and a young woman, looking around the age of 20 to 25, answered, taking in the sight of him with fear.<p>

"Klaus," she whispered. Klaus smirked.

"Hello, love," he replied. He looked inside before speaking once more. "Where is Vectra?" The woman glared at him with her own blue eyes, her dirty blonde hair falling in very slight waves down her pale shoulders.

"She's dead."

"Ah, I see. So the house belongs to you now?"

"That's right."

Klaus held her gaze, knowing she was on Vervain. "Well I suggest you invite me inside, or I'll kill this girl in my arms." The woman's gaze travelled down to Ebony, who lay unconscious and bleeding against him. She breathed in, looking up at him. Before she could say anything, a young boy came bouncing down the stairs.

"Mommy?"

"Ricky!" she said fearfully. She looked at Klaus, who watched the young boy with interest and malice. "Go back upstairs. _Now_."

The young boy, _Ricky_, ignored his mother. He looked at Klaus with big brown eyes. "Who is that man, Mommy?"

"It's—"

Klaus cut her off. "Hello lad. Would you tell your mother to let me inside?"

The little boy's eyes suddenly widened. "Y-you're Klaus!" he said, pointing at the hybrid. Klaus lifted his blonde eyebrows at the woman as he spoke.

"I see your own mother has been teaching you to fear me, _Melinda_." The whites of his eyes turned red and made his blue eyes pop against the vibrant color. The veins under his eyes pulsed out. He let his fangs contract and he gripped Ebony's wrist, bringing it up to his mouth. He sank his fangs into her delicate skin and drank. Ebony took in a sharp breath and her green eyes opened blearily from the pain. Her brows furrowed and she lifted her other hand to Klaus's face, pushing as she opened her mouth in a voiceless scream. The woman at the door hesitated before she yelled at him.

"Okay! Come in, Klaus!"

Klaus let go of Ebony, looking into her fearful eyes before flashing into the house. The little boy, Ricky, ran up the stairs, presumably to his room. Melinda watched Klaus in fear as he set down Ebony's shaking form on the ground. She trembled, wrapping her arms around her bare arms.

"Are you going to kill me?" Melinda asked as Klaus walked up to her. He smirked.

"No, I still need you sweetheart." He flashed her a smile before lounging on the couch, waiting for his brother. Ebony looked at him, pushing her hair away from her face. He looked at her, sitting there on the ground. "Ebony, was it?" When she fearfully nodded at him, he smirked. "Well, darling, have you ever thought about being a vampire?"

Ebony's eyes widened. She looked at the door, which was wide open. She got up and ran toward it but ended up ramming into a hard chest and Klaus grabbed her arms, throwing her to the ground roughly. She looked up at him in fear, sitting up. He watched her blankly.

"Why are you doing this to me?" she whispered. Klaus looked up at her wound and how the blood was smeared against her dress.

"Revenge," he said simply. He walked around her, sitting on the couch once more. She looked behind her, green meeting blue. "Don't try that little stunt again, I won't hesitate to kill you right here and now."

Ebony was so scared she didn't realize he was bluffing.

* * *

><p>Kol could see the mansion, door wide open. He parked behind Niklaus's car, quickly getting out. When Amy ran up to him when he made his way to the porch, he told her not to do anything stupid.<p>

"Like what?" she snorted.

"Like charging in and getting yourself killed."

She stayed silent after that.

They walked up to the door in silence and Kol peered in. He caught sight of a crying Ebony, curled in on herself, her white dress stained in red. He rushed forward but was bound by the invisible force holding him outside. He slammed his hands against the doorframe, watching as Ebony looked up at him, green eyes glazed with tears. He heard Klaus chuckle and Klaus walked until he was in Kol's sight. Kol growled, threats pouring out of his mouth.

"Now, now, brother," he said, and Kol was forced to stop and watch as he stalked over to a frightened Ebony. "I think it is only fair for me to get my revenge on you the same way you did me—" Kol cut him off angrily.

"What are you talking about, _brother_? You took your revenge on me! Don't you remember Natalia?" Kol's eyes hardened and Ebony cast her eyes downward. _He still loves her,_ she thought. She didn't realize why that made her feel the way she did.

"Natalia?" Klaus smirked. "Oh, yes. Brother, I had every intention of ripping her pretty little throat out for you to see, but someone had gotten there before me." Kol stopped, confused. "It was no work of a vampire, Kol. It was a werewolf that had mauled her apart the way you found her." Klaus had reached Ebony and Kol's eyes remained on his every move as he gripped her arm and yanked her up. He moved behind her and Ebony tried to stop her shaking, but couldn't. "Now," Klaus continued, voice low on Ebony's ear as he watched Kol's own eyes. "I will take my revenge on this young girl."

Ebony didn't realize what was happening, but suddenly Amy had run past Kol into the house at the same time a bloody wrist was being shoved against her mouth. She struggled against Klaus's hold, knowing it was futile—but she had to try. Klaus kept his wrist to her mouth until Ebony had to swallow to breathe. He ripped his arms away from her as she fell to the floor, coughing. Her dress was stained in multiple spots with blood as she raised her fingers to her bloody mouth. She felt her eyes widen—_what was he doing?_ Kol was banging and yelling at Klaus from outside the house and Ebony looked up at Amy, who was now being held by an older woman, a knife pressed to her throat. She was struggling against her, and the woman was holding her very tightly. Ebony whirled around as Klaus brought her up, holding her against him. She was breathing heavily when Kol yelled at his brother, voice pleading.

"Niklaus," he said. "_Please_."

Ebony looked back at him, eyes wide. Kol looked pained, and Ebony watched him in slight confusion. What was happening? She looked back as Klaus laughed humorlessly. Klaus looked over at the woman, pupils dilating.

"You," he said to the woman holding the knife against Amy, "are going to stab yourself when I leave. Kill yourself. Do you understand?" The woman nodded. Klaus looked back at her, and Ebony tried to pry herself away. Every instinct she had was telling her to _run_.

Then, it happened.

Klaus gripped her face and twisted it, turning it to an impossible position, and then Ebony's world went black as she fell to the ground, both Kol and Amy's pained screams echoing in her mind.

* * *

><p>Ebony felt a pain in her head and she sat up abruptly, bringing in a quick intake of breath. She felt someone holding her face in their hands. She looked up at the brown eyes of Kol and the blue eyes of Amy. Amy hugged her to her chest as Ebony watched everything in bewilderment.<p>

"I thought you were going to die…" Amy sobbed. Ebony pulled away from her to stare confusedly at the dead woman on the ground. Memories flooded her and she looked at Kol for answers. He wouldn't meet her eyes.

"Kol," she said, causing pain to fly through her throat. "How is this possible? I thought—didn't Klaus kill me?"

"You had his blood in your system." Ebony continued to watch him.

"So?" she pressed. He finally looked up at her with his darkened eyes.

"You're in transition to become a vampire. You have to feed on human blood in 24 hours or you really will die." Amy looked at her sadly. Ebony raised herself on her wobbly knees, backing away from them as the smell of blood was pounding into her. She looked away from the dead woman and wrinkled her nose. Kol was quickly standing in front of her, embracing her in his muscled arms as she let the tears flow from her eyes. She gripped him as hard as she could, crying into his shirt.

"I don't want to be a vampire," she sobbed against him. He rubbed her hair for a bit before she finally let go of him and pulled away. Amy looked at her with sad eyes.

"Please, Ebony," Amy said. "I don't want to lose you. Please, drink blood! I can't lose you." Ebony shook her head.

"No. I don't want to be a monster." Kol gripped her arms.

"You are going to drink, Ebony."

"No!"

"Ebony!"

"NO!"

Kol gripped her and pulled her with him over to Amy. He gripped Amy's arm, who willingly brought it up to her. Ebony could hear Amy's heartbeat, the blood pulsing through her pale body. Ebony felt Kol slip his hand into her hair, pushing her head to her wrist. Ebony felt her gums throb and she felt her new canines indent against her lower lip, slightly drawing blood. She knew her face must've looked like Kol's when he fed, with his demonic eyes. She couldn't help herself anymore and she caved, gripping Amy's arm and biting into her flesh. She quickly drank, moaning at the feel of the substance she now must drink to survive travelling down her throat. She finally realized what she was doing and she pulled her head away. Her body moved lightning fast as she stared in horror at what she'd done. She could feel the craving already settling inside her and she cast one look at Amy and Kol before she darted past them and outside the door.

She fled, not wanting to see either of them, into the night.


End file.
